Forrester Report: Tech’s Double-Edged Role in Sustainability

The world of technology is built on tradeoffs — and according to a new Forrester Research trends report, disruptive innovations often act like Jekyll and Hyde. While they unlock powerful tools for sustainability, they also risk undermining those very goals.

Tech’s Double Edge

The 15-page report explains that disruptive technologies accelerate energy efficiency, support climate adaptation, enable risk monitoring, and aid conservation. However, their implementation often comes with high compute power demands, e-waste, rare material use, and large-scale operational costs.

Mark N. Vena, president of SmartTech Research, warned that without careful planning, these innovations can quietly erode the sustainability targets they aim to support. Companies succeeding in this area, he noted, are those that treat sustainability as a measurable performance metric alongside revenue and productivity.

Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group added that new technologies like AI often deliver unanticipated consequences. “The damage can be significant,” he said, but the same AI tools — modeling and simulation — could also help reduce impact if deployed correctly.

AI’s Balancing ActForrester identified automation and AI as prime examples of this double-edged dynamic. On one hand, they boost efficiency and environmental monitoring. On the other, they demand huge energy resources, introduce inefficiencies, and create risks around data security and unpredictability.

Efficient computing remains key. Nvidia’s research shows energy-efficient GPUs can cut energy use by 10x and capital costs by 6x while boosting performance by 46x. Forrester’s Abhijit Sunil recommended developing “stewardship agents” and sustainability-focused robotics to maximize positive outcomes.

Franklin Manchester, an AI advisor at SAS, urged balance in deployment: “Not every nut needs to be cracked with a sledgehammer. Start with strong processes and apply AI only where it makes sense.”

As Forrester highlights, the future of sustainability in tech lies not in rejecting innovation but in managing its tradeoffs with precision and accountability.