The ‘next phase’ of AI adoption will focus less on its capacity to perform sophisticated tasks, and more on whether the technology‘s continued expansion can be conducted in a responsible manner, according to a new report from S&P Global.
S&P Global’s third-quarter 2026 Sustainability Quarterly explored the challenges associated with the growth of AI, focusing on corporate adoption of AI governance, rising energy requirements, and opposition to new data centre developments.
AI governance
As it noted, while most firms have ‘invested heavily’ in AI-enabled tools, they lack robust AI governance – S&P Global’s recent Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) found that 54% of firms have yet to put AI governance into practice.
Of those that do have policies in place, 91% of firms have focused on data privacy, while cybersecurity (69%) and bias avoidance (74%) are among the other core focus areas. Just two fifths (40%) have policies in place for identifying AI-generated content, which S&P Global describes as a ‘clear governance gap’.
‘The share of respondents that have an AI policy rose from 40% in 2024 to 47% in 2025,’ S&P Global noted in its report. ‘This includes companies with a dedicated standalone policy or one that is integrated into other governance documentation.
‘About 41% of companies in our analysis do not have a policy, and another 13% said they do not currently have a policy but plan to implement one in the next two years. In other words, 54%, or more than half, of responding firms have not put AI governance into practice.’
Energy requirements
As regards the energy requirements to power AI, S&P Global noted that among the firms it analysed that are operating or leasing data centres, power consumption almost tripled between 2017 and 2024. Renewable energy use has also grown in tandem, accounting for 84% of total energy consumption by 2024.
At the same time, the report found that many companies are using AI tools to improve aspects of their corporate sustainability, with energy efficiency a key focus area.
‘Across the board, more companies are exploring how they can use AI to become more sustainable,’ the report noted. ‘Energy efficiency is the most common environmental application of AI across sectors, and about 27% of companies say they are using AI to measure or improve climate-related metrics such as emissions.’
However, while AI is being applied in these areas, many firms are not measuring the effectiveness of said programmes – according to S&P Global’s CSA report, just 30% have quantified the impact AI is having on addressing environmental concerns.
‘As a tool for addressing environmental issues and climate change, AI’s success remains largely anecdotal,’ it added. ‘More companies will need to collect data on the efficacy of the AI-driven programs they implement before a clear picture of AI’s climate benefits can emerge.’
Data centres
Finally, S&P Global’s report explored concerns about AI’s impact on society and infrastructure, noting that around 75% of Americans now oppose the construction of data centres near their homes, with opposition also rising in markets such as Singapore and Malaysia.
As it noted, some 168 early-stage US data centre projects were facing cancellation or delay as of the start of August 2026. Around three-quarters of these delays were linked to community opposition. Read more here.
