NTT DATA To Tackle Residual Emissions With Climeworks Deal
NTT DATA has formed a strategic partnership with Swiss Direct Air Capture (DAC) company Climeworks. It makes NTT DATA the first Japan-based IT services provider to include high-quality carbon dioxide removal in its long-term Net Zero plans.
The deal was announced at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development meeting in Geneva.
This partnership comes at an important time for the tech industry. As demand for AI grows and the need for more data centres increases, global leaders face mounting pressure to decouple infrastructure growth from higher carbon emissions.
From aspiration to implementation
Business leaders understand that transparency and data-driven strategies are now expected. David Costa, Chief Sustainability Officer at NTT DATA, says the company wants to share its decarbonisation expertise with clients through services such as sustainable IT and value chain transformation.
"Clients are asking for sustainability strategies that are measurable, operational and grounded in real data," David says.
"Our role is to help them move from ambition to action – from carbon measurement and reporting readiness to reduction pathways across operations, technology and value chains. That same discipline guides our own approach: reduce first, be transparent about progress and limitations, and use carbon removal where it is appropriately justified for residual emissions.”
As more technology companies, like NTT DATA, adopt permanent carbon removal solutions, mid-sized companies are likely to follow suit.
The AI economy and carbon management
As AI becomes a key part of the global economy, the energy required to run these systems is attracting attention from ESG investors. Christoph Gebald, co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks, says that carbon removal is now a fundamental need for the digital age, not just a side project.
"As artificial intelligence scales and data centre construction expands, companies need clear, credible ways to manage their carbon footprint," says Christoph.
"By providing access to hundreds of kilotons of carbon removal over the next decade, Climeworks is demonstrating that carbon removal is becoming a critical part of the AI economy."
Navigating the 'last mile’ of decarbonisation
NTT DATA’s announcement offers a model for handling "hard-to-abate" residual emissions. While the company continues to focus on reducing its own emissions, the Climeworks partnership helps address the technical challenges of eliminating them entirely.
Yutaka Sasaki, President and CEO of NTT DATA Group Corporation, emphasised that carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a complement to, rather than a replacement for, aggressive mitigation.
"NTT DATA is continuously reducing our carbon emissions, and we extend our overall expertise and experience to help clients along their own journeys to truly sustainable operations,” says Yutaka.
“Our agreement with Climeworks complements these efforts by applying high-quality CDR credits toward our own residual emissions, and we believe our support will help expand the effectiveness and reach of CDR technology overall."
Accelerated timelines
Also at the Geneva summit, NTT DATA confirmed its ambitious decarbonisation goals. The company aims to achieve Net Zero for Scope 1 and 2 emissions from its global data centres by 2030, and for its offices by 2035. It plans to reach full Scope 3 Net Zero by 2040.
This transition is already visible in NTT DATA’s energy use. In the 2024 fiscal year, 56% of the electricity for its global operations came from renewable sources, up from 49% the previous year.
