Emerging technologies like automation, blockchain, edge, and artificial intelligence (AI) show potential to power a net-zero future. But enterprises still must carefully assess the environmental costs of those technologies "and not just follow every shiny ball," Forrester analyst Abhijit Sunil told SDxCentral.

An emerging technology's environmental cost refers to any negative environmental impacts that tech may leave, including carbon emissions, computational intensity, and energy or resource use. These technologies are — by definition — emerging, and "there is a balance to be struck in many use cases," purchasing decisions, and digital transformation moves, Sunil said.

Specifically, "there needs to be a consideration of the right use cases and the right scale at which emerging technologies are used for carbon emission reduction related activities," he explained.

Take blockchain, for example. It's often used to reduce supply chain emissions and is great at preserving data integrity and proof of provenance, according to Forrester's report. And blockchain is already widely used in sustainability audits and reporting, supply chain track-and-trace, and carbon credit trading, Sunil said.

But blockchain is also very computationally intense. This means in a use case that helps preserve data in the supply chain, "blockchain may not always be necessary in the first place," Sunil said.

To that point, Sunil urged companies to consider the carbon and computation intensity of something like blockchain and if the positive environmental impacts of using emerging tech will cancel out any externalities.

For large enterprises that have exhausted other "low-hanging fruit" for scope 3 emission reductions, "definitely, it is worth considering if it's the right time to invest" in blockchain, Sunil added.

But companies just getting started with sustainability can probably find other ways to achieve the same results with less environmental cost and risk, he said.

Forrester's report also examines emerging technologies like automation, digital twins, artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning, edge computing and IoT, processor technology advancements, thermo-optimized data centers, and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR). The report describes each technology's general use cases, the dual role it plays in sustainability, and future developments and considerations for specific sustainability use cases.

Edge computing and IoT is another nuanced technology because it "disseminates carbon footprint out into the edges, so to speak," Sunil said.

Measuring these scattered edge emissions is much harder to manage than emissions from a data center, for example. "It's not possible at the edges because of the sheer scale of certain small IoT devices," Sunil explained.

Another consideration with edge and IoT is the risk of e-waste. "How do you kind of account for all of the devices that are out at the periphery?" Sunil said. There needs to be more practical measures in place, and companies need to be asking themselves these questions, he added.

The report advises companies to only use edge and IoT in smart buildings/spaces and scope 3 emissions reduction, citing current uses cases in supply chain, transportation, and logistical processes like fleet management or material sourcing.

A hurdle to appropriate and logical implementation of emerging technologies in sustainability use cases is the messaging from service providers that sell bundles of sustainability-focused services, Sunil explained.

Tech leaders need to dig deeper into buzzwords like blockchain, AI, and automation, and understand what goes behind those AI engines. For example, how much power do they use, and is even if they are needed?

Sunil recommends making sure the keywords used in messaging that sells sustainability services "actually make sense" and that emerging technologies make "a real difference in the service or solution that they're purchasing."

Regardless of what sustainability services may promise, "a basic rule of thumb is to think about if there is a [less] energy intensive alternative," Sunil said. "That is huge. You get to the same goal with less complexity, cost, and you don't generate carbon along the way."

And with so many organizations in the early stages of sustainability programs, "it's the right time to start to weigh the pros and cons of going certain routes," Sunil concluded.