AI isn’t weightless. Every model, token, and workflow sits on land, water, power, heat, and governance choices.

In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Sophia Mendelsohn, who leads SAP’s Global Sustainability Platform. We look at AI not as abstract software, but as physical infrastructure with real consequences for climate tech, decarbonisation, the energy transition, policy, and the businesses racing to use it.

You’ll hear why data centres now sit at the centre of the sustainability conversation. Treat AI as “just software” and you defer the hard questions: where the power comes from, how water is used, how communities respond, and who is accountable when emissions reduction promises meet infrastructure reality.

We dig into how sustainability teams can move beyond PDFs and carbon accounting, and into procurement, supplier data, financial planning, and board-level AI decisions. Scope 3 comes up too - including the awkward truth that asking suppliers for data does not mean you’ll get usable answers.

You might be shocked by how AI could shift the balance of power: from waiting for disclosures to calculating baselines, testing assumptions, and making better net zero decisions before systems lock in.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how Sophia Mendelsohn and SAP are thinking about sustainable AI, emissions reduction, and real-world climate action.

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