Artificial intelligence is transforming nearly every sector, from healthcare and finance to agriculture and education. Yet behind every AI model, chatbot and algorithm lies a less visible reality: data centres that consume vast amounts of electricity, water and materials. As AI workloads scale at unprecedented speed, the question is no longer whether data centres will grow, but how they will grow.
This is where the idea of green AI data centres enters the conversation. Once treated as a niche sustainability concern, they are increasingly being seen as foundational to the digital economy. The challenge is not simply to make data centres cleaner, but to ensure that the intelligence they enable does not come at an unsustainable environmental cost.
What makes a data centre 'green'?A green, or sustainable, AI data centre is a computing facility designed to minimise environmental impact while supporting energy-intensive AI workloads. Traditional data centres were primarily optimised for reliability and uptime. Green AI facilities add sustainability as a core design constraint.
