Earth Day is celebrated every year on 22 April to raise awareness about environmental issues and encourage action to protect the planet. It brings together people, communities, and organisations worldwide to promote sustainability, conservation, and climate action.
Two Lenovo directors share their thoughts about the importance of the day, and the actions and decisions we can take every day as part of the broader community in the IT channel.
Mary Jacques, Executive Director, Global ESG and Regulatory Compliance at Lenovo:
“World Earth Day is an important reminder that sustainability cannot be a one-day commitment it needs to be embedded into the very framework of how businesses operate every day. AI plays a powerful role in driving meaningful climate action, helping organisations better understand the impact they have on the environment and when applied thoughtfully can optimise energy use, reduce waste, and help make more informed decisions across complex value chains.
“However, real progress requires more than innovation alone. It requires transparency, collaboration, and a commitment to turning data into action. By utilising AI, organisations can move sustainability beyond reporting, enabling better tracking and measurement of their digital footprint while improving impact in real time but only when guided by responsible governance and clear intent.
The opportunity for businesses is clear; by combining AI with collaboration across the ecosystem, organisations can turn climate ambition into measurable, lasting progress.”
Kate Steele, Director, EMEA HPC/AI at Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group
“World Earth Day shines a spotlight on the shared power of individuals, industries and communities, and serves as a timely reminder for businesses to rethink how energy is both produced and used. Data centers sit at the heart of this conversation, especially as AI adoption continues to accelerate. With 93% of IT leaders in EMEA planning to increase AI investments in the next 12 months, the scale and intensity of AI-driven workloads are set to rise significantly. As enterprises expand these workloads, they are confronting escalating energy demand alongside tightening sustainability mandates.
“Against this backdrop, the challenge is not simply how to consume less, but how to do more with smarter, cleaner systems. The narrative is shifting from resource intensity to resource intelligence. With the right design choices, data center providers can accelerate the transition to renewable energy, reduce environmental impact, and even create value for local communities.
For CIOs and business leaders, this is where the theme of ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ becomes tangible. The focus must move beyond minimising harm to actively redesigning infrastructure – embracing renewable energy, enabling circular systems and transforming excess into opportunity. Because the future of digital growth depends not just on innovation, but on how collectively we choose to power it.”
