IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Sustainability/ESG 2025 Predictions
This IDC FutureScape provides the top 10 sustainability/ESG predictions for 2025."IT has become a critical enabler for organizations moving from ESG compliance to the operationalization phase of sustainable transformation. But the IT footprint can also negatively impact their ambitions. The age of AI Everywhere creates exciting new possibilities to accelerate change, and it makes sustainable IT adoption more crucial than ever. This year's IDC Sustainability/ESG FutureScape explores various critical aspects of successful AI for sustainability and sustainable AI integration." — Bjoern Stengel, Global Sustainability Research and Practice Lead, IDC
IDC FutureScape Figure
Executive Summary
IDC FutureScape Predictions
Summary of External Drivers
Responsible and Human-Centric Technology — Ethics in the Enterprise Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers
Prediction 1: By the year 2026, 60% of organizations will leverage generative AI to develop more granular and operationally focused sustainable transformation strategies.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Prediction 2: By 2028, in response to the growing complexity of carbon accounting and supply chain decarbonization, 70% of organizations will only partner with IT vendors that have a robust services/software partner ecosystem.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Prediction 3: By 2027, 25% of organizations will leverage AI platforms to create a digital twin of their supply chain to enable analysis of potential climate and weather-related risk.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Prediction 4: By 2026, 80% of the world's largest enterprises will report their supply chain emissions and have visibility to their Tier 1 suppliers allowing them to gather 35% of their Scope 3 emissions.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Prediction 5: By 2026, 60% of enterprises will implement Sustainable AI Frameworks, leveraging data-driven decisions to scale AI operations across datacenter locations while meeting decarbonization goals.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Business Impact
Guidance
Prediction 6: By 2027, 75% of customers will expect CO2 emissions data on everything from build, operate and disposition of their IT assets to assist with their overall corporate sustainable goals.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Business Impact
Guidance
Prediction 7: By 2027, 75% of customers will multiply their IT infrastructure efficiency and cost-effectiveness by leveraging various FinOps and GreenOps instruments.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Business Impact
Guidance
Prediction 8: By 2027, 80% of IT buyers will only work with vendors that meet social, environmental, and governance-related responsible AI criteria in accordance with sustainable procurement requirements.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Business Impact
Guidance
Prediction 9: By 2028, in 60% of organizations the Chief Ethics/Sustainability Officer will have joined the central AI data governance group or the AI Center of Excellence.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Prediction 10: 35% of industry ecosystems will utilize collaborative AI-enabled solutions to embed sustainability into the decision-making process, leading to a 15% reduction in resource consumption.
Associated Drivers
IT Impact
Guidance
Advice for Technology Buyers
External Drivers: Detail
The Drive to Automate — Toward a Data-Driven Future
Future-Proofing Against Environmental Risks — ESG Operationalization and Risk Management
AI-Driven Workplace Transformation — Building Tomorrow's Workforce Today
Regulatory Flux — Navigating Compliance Challenges in a Shifting Policy Landscape
Geoeconomic Reordering — Rethinking Globalization, Supply Chains, and Macroeconomic Challenges
Responsible and Human-Centric Technology — Ethics in the Enterprise
Battling Against Technical Debt — Overcoming Hurdles to IT Modernization
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