A recent survey, Tech-Driven Sustainability Trends and Index 2024, commissioned by Alibaba Cloud, reveals that 76% of businesses across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East are exploring the potential of digital technologies like AI and cloud computing to drive sustainable development. However, high energy consumption remains a major challenge, with 61% expressing concerns about its impact on broader adoption.
Interest in these technologies varies by region. Emerging markets in Asia show the highest enthusiasm at 83%, followed by the Middle East (78%), Europe (74%), and developed Asian markets (72%). Countries like the Philippines (91%), Singapore (84%), Indonesia (81%), and Thailand (81%) rank particularly high in interest.
Regional Differences in Adoption and Understanding
While optimism is high, 59% of businesses acknowledge a knowledge gap in how digital tools can support sustainability goals. This gap is most pronounced in Asia (63%), Europe (61%), and the Middle East (45%). Additionally, 62% of executives feel their organizations lag in adopting AI and cloud technologies to further sustainability efforts. This sentiment is especially strong in Singapore (80%), the Philippines (77%), Japan (75%), and Hong Kong SAR (75%).
82% of companies agree that sustainable tech development is critical for their business. Markets such as Singapore (93%), the Philippines (91%), and Indonesia (89%) lead in prioritizing these efforts. Organizations recognize multiple benefits of adopting digital approaches, including cost savings, better efficiency, and compliance with ESG regulations.
AI and Energy Challenges
AI and machine learning stand out as the most important technologies for corporate sustainability. Businesses in the Middle East place the highest emphasis on AI (52%), compared to Europe (41%), emerging Asian markets (40%), and developed Asian markets (36%). At the same time, 81% of respondents agree on the importance of human oversight in guiding the development of these technologies.
Despite their potential, the energy consumption of digital technologies sparks significant concern. Over 61% worry that high energy use could limit AI adoption, with fears highest in Singapore (85%), the Philippines (77%), and Hong Kong SAR (75%). Additionally, 71% believe the energy demands of AI and similar tools might outweigh their benefits. Worries about energy use are most prominent in Singapore (86%), the Philippines (84%), and Malaysia (81%).
Sustainability and Green Tech Choices
Selecting sustainable technology providers is becoming increasingly important. Around 51% prefer cloud providers using renewable energy, 46% value energy-efficient data centres, and 42% prioritize companies with carbon reduction initiatives.
Alibaba Cloud’s Commitment to Green Tech
Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, highlighted the importance of these findings. “We’re dedicated to helping businesses achieve sustainability with scalable, efficient solutions,” she noted. Alibaba Cloud has committed to using 100% clean energy by 2030, improving energy efficiency at its global data centres, and optimizing AI tools like large language models (LLMs) to reduce energy use.
Significant progress has already been made. Alibaba Cloud’s data centres improved their average power usage effectiveness (PUE) to 1.200 in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, compared to 1.215 the previous year. Clean energy sources now account for 56% of their electricity usage. Their green computing infrastructure also helped clients cut emissions by 9.884 million tonnes—a 44% annual increase.
Democratizing AI Through Open-Source Innovation
Alibaba Cloud is also working to make AI accessible and affordable for businesses of all sizes. Through its open-source initiatives, it has released advanced models from its Qwen family, such as Qwen2.5-VL and Qwen2.5-1M, alongside its video foundation model Tongyi Wanxiang.
These models have already inspired over 100,000 derivatives on Hugging Face, demonstrating widespread global adoption. By focusing on smaller, energy-efficient models, Alibaba Cloud is reducing the environmental impact of AI training and deployment while encouraging a collaborative development ecosystem.
Survey Highlights Evolving Corporate Sustainability Trends
Based on input from 1,300 decision-makers across 13 markets, the Tech-Driven Sustainability Trends and Index 2024 report offers insights into how businesses view the role of digital technology in sustainability. It emphasizes the need to address energy challenges and close gaps in understanding to fully unlock the potential of AI and cloud computing.
About the Survey
The survey, conducted independently by Yonder Consulting with support from The Purpose Business, gathered responses between May 10 and June 19, 2024.
Participants included senior leaders from industries like technology, finance, healthcare, and retail in 13 markets across Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea), Europe (France, Germany, and the UK), and the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the UAE). Developed Asian markets include Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, while emerging markets cover Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
About Alibaba Cloud
Founded in 2009, Alibaba Cloud provides a full range of cloud services, including computing, storage, AI, and big data analytics, to customers worldwide. Gartner has recognized it as the leading IaaS provider in the Asia-Pacific region since 2018, and according to IDC, it remains one of the top global public cloud providers.
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