KPMG: How to Embed AI into Sustainability Strategy – and Why

In the rush to adopt AI, many organisations focus on productivity, personalisation or automation. 

But a growing number are asking a different question: can AI help strive for sustainability? 

According to KPMG, the answer is yes — if businesses are willing to reconsider where and how they implement the technology.

Thinking bigger with AI strategy

KPMG is positioning AI not as a siloed tool for tech departments, but as a system-wide lever to accelerate environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. 

From decarbonising operations to building ethical supply chains, the professional services firm is helping clients use AI in ways that meet both commercial and climate targets.

For KPMG, this means blending machine learning, automation and data infrastructure with a clear focus: business transformation that considers people, planet and profit in equal measure.

“To deliver the benefits while minimising the risks, organisations need a long-term strategy that breaks ingrained habits and adopts new ways of working collaboratively with AI,” says Leanne Allen, Head of AI Advisory at KPMG UK. 

“At KPMG, our Trusted AI framework underpins everything we do. It’s the bedrock of KPMG AI Trust, a new suite of services designed to help businesses adopt AI tools safely and securely. 

“We use our framework to help our clients implement AI that has ethics and guardrails built in from the outset. We also take a human-centric approach, ensuring people remain at the centre of decision-making.”

AI as a sustainability enabler

In KPMG’s framework, AI is not about replacing human decision-making — it’s about augmenting it with better data and faster insights. And this is where it becomes a lever for sustainability. 

The firm helps clients identify areas where AI can reduce waste, cut emissions, improve resource efficiency or flag ESG risks earlier in the process.

“Our passion for ESG now is getting powered up by AI in order to get through to some of these outcomes," says David Rowlands, Global Head of AI at KPMG. "We’re using it as a bridge between theory and reality, between ideas and outcomes.The technology is better than ever and easier to put in than it ever was before, so  you can create technology in a much more atomised way.

“One of the big questions is – are you building AI in a sustainable way? When you build your AI solutions, you have a responsibility to take into account the sustainability design.

“KPMG are supporting our clients with this idea of smart people organising the data, which has all sorts of benefits in sustainability and beyond – lower risk, better performance, lower cost. In sustainable use of AI using your understanding of the business problem, we're trying to get to great ideas and then narrowing down the technology so that it's using much less.”

Take supply chains. AI can help firms monitor carbon impact, spot inefficiencies and build more resilient procurement networks. 

In energy-intensive sectors, predictive analytics can identify equipment failures before they cause environmental damage. 

In retail, generative AI is being used to help companies meet demand more accurately, reducing excess inventory and waste.

But KPMG is also clear that sustainability isn’t just about environmental impact. Social outcomes matter, too — from workplace fairness to responsible sourcing. 

With its Trusted AI framework, the firm helps clients ensure their AI systems are ethical, unbiased and accountable. This includes rigorous checks on whether algorithms reinforce inequality, as well as clear governance structures that ensure new tech meets evolving legal and ethical standards.

Skills and culture, not just software

AI represents much more than the related software tools wielding it. 

Any AI strategy must include a long-term workforce plan — especially if sustainability is the goal. This means upskilling people to work with AI tools, redesigning job roles and embedding a culture of trust and transparency.

AI cannot deliver greener outcomes unless the people using it understand the context and priorities. 

KPMG helps organisations define what their AI-enabled workforce looks like, how roles will change and where human insight is still critical — particularly in areas where ethical judgement and stakeholder trust are vital.

For sectors like healthcare, pharma and government, this integration of skills, systems and strategy is crucial. These industries often have the most to gain from AI efficiencies, but also face the highest scrutiny in terms of fairness, accountability and public impact.

Tech transformation with a sustainability lens

Enabling AI also means rethinking infrastructure. Many organisations have legacy systems that can’t support the scale or speed required to run effective AI models — especially when sustainability data is involved.

KPMG works with tech partners including Microsoft, Google and AWS to assess whether clients’ infrastructure is AI-ready, then helps build flexible and secure platforms that allow safe experimentation and scaling. 

Sustainability is built into these plans at the outset — from energy-efficient data processing to cloud migrations that cut carbon footprints.

One of the more striking areas of development is in natural resources and energy, where AI is essential to the transition to cleaner power systems. 

Smart grid optimisation, demand forecasting and emissions monitoring are all being reshaped by intelligent models that can process variables in real time — something no spreadsheet or dashboard could manage.

In short, KPMG is betting that the future of AI won’t just be smart — it will need to be sustainable.

“When individuals know that technologies have been developed responsibly, with built-in controls and assurances, they'll feel more secure and confident in using them,” says Leanne.

“The rise of AI offers significant opportunities for both businesses and society, but its true potential can only be unlocked if people trust it.