AI is considered the engine of the digital future, but its energy demands are growing rapidly. Simultaneously, the topic of Sustainable AI is taking center stage in the debate at the TransformIT Europe Trade Fair & Conference 2026 in Brussels. Within this dynamic, Ecosia presents an approach aimed at making AI more climate-friendly.
By Jan Nintemann and Jochen Siegle; Photo: Ecosia
Artificial intelligence is shaping the digital world like no other technology. However, as AI models grow larger and more powerful, so does their ecological impact. Data centers require enormous amounts of electricity, large-scale training runs cause significant CO₂ emissions, and the global use of generative AI is increasing rapidly.
Against this backdrop, Ecosia is drawing attention with its new AI feature. The company, which has been supporting climate protection projects with its search engine for many years, is also pursuing an AI approach that deliberately distinguishes itself from the energy-intensive systems of many large providers.
Ecosia Focuses on More Resource-Efficient AI
According to Ecosia, the new AI is based on significantly smaller and more efficient models than those currently dominating the industry. The company states that it deliberately foregoes particularly power-intensive functions such as video generation or complex multimodal features. Instead, the focus is on accomplishing AI tasks with the lowest possible energy consumption.
Ecosia also pursues a consistently sustainable approach to energy use: The company states that it generates more solar and wind energy than it consumes itself – including the new AI features. The use of AI is thus intended to be based on truly clean energy, rather than merely appearing climate-friendly through compensation measures.
Furthermore, Ecosia emphasizes that the AI is designed to be privacy-friendly. Users can decide for themselves whether they want to activate the feature, and no profiles or usage data will be created.
As with its search engine, Ecosia states that all profits will continue to be invested in climate and reforestation projects.
Why This AI Approach Fits TransformIT Europe 2026
At TransformIT Europe 2026 in May 2026 in Brussels, a Sustainable AI conference will be held concurrently. It will discuss how digital innovation can be made ecologically sustainable, transparent, and socially more responsible. Ecosia’s approach provides a concrete practical example of this.
While standards, political frameworks, and sustainable digital strategies are being discussed in Brussels, Ecosia demonstrates how a company is already working to make AI low-emission and embed it into a regenerative business model.
This clearly shows that sustainable AI is not a theoretical future concept, but rather finds practical applications.
Driving Force for a More Climate-Friendly AI Future
Ecosia’s model does not claim to solve all the problems of the energy-intensive AI industry. However, it provides significant momentum in a direction that is a key focus at TransformIT Europe: Technology can be designed more resource-efficiently – and sustainable AI is possible if it is developed from the outset with consideration for energy consumption, user rights, and ecological impact.
The future of AI can become more sustainable – provided that decision-makers from business and politics consistently pursue this path.
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