SUSTAINABILITY
Artificial intelligence ( AI ) is increasingly becoming a part of business . Companies are learning how best to use the tool , where it fits into their operations and how it can be used to boost efficiency , reduce costs and limit errors in processes .
Global consultancy KPMG is supporting many companies in these endeavours .
“ It is a double-edged sword that will cut both ways – employing AI for good and using AI to mitigate the impact of developing it ,” says David Rowlands , Global Head of AI at KPMG .
“ The AI genie is out of the bottle – it ’ s now up to humans to grab hold of it and use it for good and to manage the bad .”
AI in sustainability AI and sustainability have both seen leaps in significance in boardrooms around the world in recent years . The two now sit alongside finance , regulation and others as key considerations in every conversation .
“ The first thing that KPMG did was make sure that our people had the AI technology in their hands ,” David says . “ We knew that people would be innovative in the field and do great things with their clients on a day-to-day basis that could be enhanced by the general capabilities of AI .
“ It is exciting to think about how the capabilities of 270,000 talented , diverse people multiplied by AI is going to go out in the interest of our clients .”
KPMG has been organising people , processes and technologies into operating models to boost efficiencies and production for years – the same is now true of AI .
“ We want to get AI woven into the operating models , value chains , strategies and senses of purpose of organisations . When you do that , the business and value case of AI becomes exponentially much more powerful .”
AI can be used to increase the power of compute of sector specific cognitive engines .
“ This is where winners and losers are going to be created in each of their sectors ,” David says .
This function essentially boosts efficiency and accuracy – two essentials for healthcare .
“ In healthcare , AI is being used to analyse scans and is finding 14 % more cancers than the human eye ,” David explains . “ In hospitals , we are using models to optimise resource allocation so that when a patient comes in , there ’ s always a doctor , a nurse , a bed , the operating theatre – we ’ ve never had the compute power and the AI capability to be able to solve these things before .”
Looking more specifically at sustainability , AI can be used to boost efficiencies in areas such as land use optimisation and decarbonisation .
KPMG has built two powerful tools for ESG :
• Climate IQ helps KPMG clients in understanding risk and sustainability environments to support strategy development
112 October 2024