Page 53 - AI for Good - Impact Report

AI for Good

Sustainable Development Goal 12: Responsible

Consumption and Production

Ensure sustainable consumption and production
patterns

Data availability for SDG 12 is notably limited, with only 32%
of data availability, posing challenges in tracking progress
towards the targets. 325 Currently, only 4 out of the 11 targets
are deemed to be on track, underscoring the critical nature
of the situation. 326 This is critical since SDG 12 is a direct
enabler of various other SDGs such as SDG 13 - Climate
Action, and could thus make it more challenging to reach
those goals.

AI and SDG 12 Impact
According to a study on the impact of AI on
AI plays a crucial role in supporting the green transition as shown SDG 12, AI could act as an (positive) enabler
by the list of various AI UN use cases for SDG 12: 8 use cases out of for 82% of the targets and act as an inhibitor
40 in AI for Good: Innovate for Impact, 327 and approximately 50 use (negative) for 27% of the targets. (Nature
Communications, 2020)
cases out of 408 in the UN Activities on AI. 328 AI can support SDG 12
in process optimization and driving circularity in organizations. 329
For example, AI can be used for environmental data monitoring and
optimization related to energy use, waste generation, GHG emis- Use case 1
sions, logistics, and other environmental data. 330 This monitoring Providing access to environmental data to
can help companies make data-driven decisions that incorporate end-customers to nudge them into select-
environmental considerations, thereby reducing their overall envi- ing the most sustainable option.
ronmental impact. 331 This also extends to individuals who now have
access to improved data on the products they buy, and can nudge
behaviors towards more sustainable options, forcing companies to
adapt in turn. 332 In the fashion sector, for instance, AI can be used
to provide personalized recommendations to avoid waste or use
predictive analytics to help with forecasting. 333 Furthermore, the
proliferation of data can enhance sustainability reporting, foster-
ing collaboration with external stakeholders, attracting investors,
and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations. 334 This link
streamlined approach to data reporting can help advance SDG 12.6
– Corporate Sustainable Practices. Use case 2
In addition to these use cases, AI also poses some risks for SDG Monitoring environmental data with AI to
12. Specifically, process improvement and optimizing may not drive sustainability reporting capacity for
organizations.
necessarily align with positive environmental impact. 335 Increased
efficiency could incentivize organizations to produce more thereby
using more resources. Moreover, the use of AI in social media and
marketing may further drive consumer consumption by making
targetter marketing more efficient. 336 However, AI can play a posi-
tive role in identifying and mitigating greenwashing claims by
raising the disclosure quality of ESG rating scores. 337 However, the
substantial resources required for AI implementation can pose chal-
lenges in aligning with SDG 12, as shown with SDG 6 and SDG 7. link
Key Considerations for Stakeholders Use case 3
Using AI to reduce forecasting risks within
• Impact assessment: Aligning AI use case development and incentives the supply chain and to minimize waste
creation.
with OECD AI principles to maximize sustainable value creation. 338 The
objective is to prioritize governmental tools for AI use cases related to
the SDGs.
• Technology improvement: Reducing energy consumption is imperative
to support the development of SDG 12, hence technologies with less
energy requirements should be prioritized. 339

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