Digital technology uses energy, and the AI boom is making that more visible.

The big picture

The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that electricity demand from data centres will more than double by 2030, reaching about 945 terawatt-hours, from roughly 415 TWh in 2024. In an April 2026 update, the IEA reported that data centre electricity demand grew about 17% in 2025, far faster than overall electricity demand growth of around 3%, as technology companies spent heavily on AI infrastructure. Efficiency gains reduce the energy per task, but total use keeps rising as deployment scales.

Why it matters to a small business

– Electricity and cloud prices can be affected by energy and infrastructure costs

– Customers and tenders increasingly ask about sustainability

– Reporting requirements may reach smaller suppliers through their larger customers

– Hardware pricing is already being shaped by the AI build-out

Practical ways to green your IT

Buy smarter

– Choose efficient, durable, repairable devices with recognized certifications

– Right-size servers, and avoid overbuying

Use less

– Enable power management on PCs and displays

– Virtualize or consolidate servers

– Turn off unused equipment and retire old systems

– Move suitable workloads to efficient cloud platforms, and ask providers about renewable energy and efficiency

– Be deliberate about AI use. Heavy workloads consume resources.

Keep longer and dispose responsibly

– Extend device lifecycles when secure and practical

– Repair and redeploy before replacing

– Use certified recyclers

Measure

– Track energy use and hardware lifecycle metrics

– Set simple annual goals

Balance

Don’t sacrifice security or reliability for small efficiency gains. Old unsupported hardware is neither green nor safe.

Sources: International Energy Agency, Energy and AI (2025) and 2026 update.

DBR Soft can help you plan efficient, sustainable IT. Contact us for more information.