The UK’s ambition to expand sovereign compute capacity twenty-fold by 2030 has put artificial intelligence (AI) at the centre of sustainability debates. AI is often portrayed as an environmental villain, blamed for heavy energy consumption and carbon emissions tied to training and running large models. While its resource demands are undeniable, focusing narrowly on AI risks missing the bigger picture. The real sustainability problem lies in long-standing inefficiencies across the broader IT landscape, issues that predate AI and, if left unaddressed, will continue to undermine progress towards the UK’s Net Zero by 2050 target.
AI’s rapid growth provides an opportunity to re-examine how organisations use tech resources, manage IT infrastructure and plan for long-term efficiency.
Hidden inefficiencies in IT operations
AI has brought longstanding inefficiencies and hidden infrastructure costs into sharper focus, something organisations should treat as a catalyst for action, not a crisis. Globally, the real opportunity lies in optimising what we are already operating.
One of the most overlooked issues in data centre energy efficiency is the prevalence of idle or “zombie” servers-machines that remain powered on while performing little to no useful work. According to a 2024 report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, even when idle, conventional servers can consume between 27% and 36% of their maximum power. These servers may appear functional but deliver no meaningful computing output, representing a significant and ongoing source of wasted energy. Identifying and decommissioning these underutilised servers is now a key priority in sustainable data centre management.
This under-utilisation leads to significant resource wastage and directly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, it remains invisible to most organisations due to siloed data and limited operational awareness. Simply put, these under-utilised servers approximately equate to every second server not needing to be produced and installed to begin with. Significant environmental gains as well as cost savings can be achieved by reducing the number of servers in production and utilising older, cheaper hardware to maintain existing systems. As data centres continue to grow and usage increases, ignoring the problem is simply unsustainable.
Another long-standing concern is the amount of CO₂ emissions caused by hardware production and underutilisation, rather than energy consumption. Studies show that embodied emissions from the production and disposal of IT hardware can account for more than half of total lifecycle emissions—making sustained use and reuse a critical factor in IT sustainability efforts. The hardware lifecycle, from extraction oof raw materials to disposal, is rife with inefficiencies such as unoptimised systems, upgrading unnecessarily, and improper disposal methods. Prioritising sustained use, cloud migration, and proper recycling procedures is necessary for a greener approach.
Sustainability in IT isn’t about perfection but about optimisation and adaptability. Systems that can self-adjust to reduce waste and respond dynamically to changing demands are critical to tackling the structural inefficiencies that persist in the technology ecosystem.
Real-time visibility is essential
If organisations are serious about prioritising sustainability, they must move beyond ad hoc improvements and adopt systems that provide real-time insight and control. This is where observability becomes crucial.
Observability delivers the data and context organisations need to make informed and impactful operational decisions. With a clear view into how infrastructure is performing, teams can identify underutilised resources, reduce energy waste and maximise hardware utilisation. All while extending the lifespan of their IT systems.
For instance, observability can determine where energy is being consumed unnecessarily, enabling teams to redistribute workloads dynamically and efficiently. These insights not only support sustainability goals but also drive cost savings and improved operational resilience.
By facilitating real-time awareness of performance, usage, and inefficiencies, observability makes sustainability efforts tangible. It transforms environmental goals into measurable outcomes organisations can act on.
Shifting the sustainability mindset
If the UK wants to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, organisations need to understand that the environmental toll of IT is not solely about AI: it’s about systemic inefficiencies across the entire ecosystem. Sustainability in IT is a systems engineering problem with observability offering the means to solve it. By turning abstract goals into measurable actions, organisations can embed sustainability into daily operations rather than treating it as an afterthought.
