Tech
IT Sustainability Think Tank: Progess in decarbonisation made in 2025, but gaps remain | Computer Weekly
Reflecting on 2025, the path to decarbonising technology is becoming clearer, particularly with the publication of the UK government’s Carbon Budget Delivery Plan and Industrial Strategy policy papers.
More businesses understand the environmental impact of new technologies and there is a more concerted effort to convene capabilities to mitigate environmental consequences and improve the resilience of energy supply chains.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still the centre of the conversation, but the question remains as to how we can maximise the benefits of AI while mitigating the environmental consequences of increased dependence on the technology. This is where enabling deep tech companies to scale will be key.
As it stands, AI is responsible for 5-15% of datacentre power use and is expected to grow to 35-50% by 2030. Based on this increase, there are still challenges to solve around sustainable AI, particularly the impact of datacentres and the opportunity to leverage thermal energy to support the UK’s energy supply chain.
At Digital Catapult, we accelerate the practical application of deep tech to equip the UK to be future-ready. This includes delivering necessary interventions and programmes that ensure we take a responsible and sustainable approach to innovation, and address market gaps.
Gaps and opportunities for improvement
While research highlights environmental consequences of new technologies, gaps remain in how these consequences can be communicated to business owners, and how business leaders can in turn mitigate problems further down the line.
Many recognise the need to embrace deep tech innovation and integrate AI into their operations, but don’t yet know how to cut emissions and improve efficiency. In fact, research by Salesforce found that the most pressing challenge for sustainability professionals is a knowledge gap around AI and sustainability, while research from EY found that existing frameworks and legislation “often fall short” in guiding companies on AI-related sustainability.
This knowledge gap remains a pressing challenge for businesses, highlighting an area that must be addressed through appropriate intervention.
Business leaders are currently sitting on a breadth of opportunities to lead the way integrating and applying deep tech innovation while simultaneously decarbonising their operations. At Digital Catapult, we partner with businesses to achieve this, supporting organisations across major sectors and improving industrial supply chain resilience in the process. Research found that businesses that can effectively embrace energy-efficient solutions, leverage AI-optimised datacentres and achieve circularity in their e-waste systems, can reduce energy consumption and the costs that ensue by 40-60% without compromising on performance. This highlights the value of working creatively to solve systemic challenges while also pursuing growth.
The progress being made to drive decarbonisation
One of the best parts of my job is seeing progress across the board on AI offerings, applied by a range of innovative startups in clean energy, decarbonisation, and environmental monitoring.
These startups address a variety of innovation gaps and are helping to advance deep tech innovation that can be applied to solve a range of environmental challenges. Digital Catapult builds partnerships across the innovation ecosystem to enable deep tech companies to scale, bridging the gap between industry, government, academia and the startup community.
Through our programmes, we are seeing genuine progress being made in the application of deep tech innovation to build a future-ready UK economy, one that is built on clean energy and net zero emissions.
An interesting and cross-cutting area of decarbonisation efforts is the supply chain, with startups developing new solutions to improve UK industrial supply chain resilience across a range of sectors.
This includes startups considering how Scope 3 emissions can be tracked and monitored using AI, as well as others considering new ways to make supply chains more transparent, cut carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption and costs, informing and empowering decision-making amongst business leaders. These solutions have been underpinned by pushing the boundaries of deep tech innovation and practically applying it in industry.
The value of convening capabilities
One initiative that’s shaping conversations in the sustainability space is the AI for Decarbonisation Virtual Centre for Excellence (ADViCE). This initiative looks to develop AI offerings to support the transition to net-zero and has seen Digital Catapult, alongside Energy Systems Catapult and the Alan Turing Institute, partner for progress with over 40 policy, industry and startup thought leaders, including Octopus, SSE and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
ADViCE exists to bring together an ecosystem of AI companies, industrial adopters, policy makers and investors to support, promote, and coordinate the adoption and diffusion of AI decarbonisation applications.
A recent webinar on sustainable AI, which can be found on the ADViCE Knowledge Base, is just one example of ADViCE’s work in IT sustainability and exemplifies the range of fascinating innovations taking place in the IT sustainability community as a whole.
As we look ahead, driving decarbonisation will rely on our collective ability to close the remaining knowledge and capability gaps.
Deep tech innovation offers a powerful pathway forward, not only to reduce emissions, but to reshape how industries operate, collaborate, and innovate. By continuing to convene capabilities, accelerate practical adoption and empower businesses with the tools and understanding they need, we can ensure progress doesn’t stall. With the right interventions and partnerships, the UK is well-positioned to lead the way.
Any readers interested in learning more about the ADViCE initiative, can learn more here.
Tech
This Premium Sennheiser Soundbar Is $1,000 Off
Looking for an all-in-one soundbar that sounds as big as it looks? Sennheiser’s Ambeo Max uses its oversized body to produce beefy, enveloping sound, and right now you can grab it for just $2,000 at Best Buy, a sizable $1,000 markdown from the usual list price. It’s one of our favorite standalone premium soundbars, particularly if you don’t want to deal with an exterior subwoofer but still want bigger bass than you’re likely to find on smaller options.
While it might be a bit larger than your average soundbar, Sennheiser uses the space well, packing a ton of functionality and drivers into the less-than-compact body. There are both full-range and 1-inch tweeters combined in every conceivable direction, and the result is an impressive reproduction of true spatial audio, something few other standalone bars can claim. As a result, it also has an impressive low-end, with bass that doesn’t rival dedicated subwoofers, but comes really close for how much simpler the setup process will be.
The larger footprint also allows for a huge number of inputs, more than you’re likely to find on those tiny soundbars that slide under your screen. In addition to an HDMI 2.1 output with eARC, you’ll get three HDMI inputs with 4K pass-through at 60Hz, USB, Ethernet, and optical audio. There are even RCA ports in case you want to hook this up to your turntable. There’s also a dedicated subwoofer output, in case you decide you want to add one to your setup down the road, giving you a ton of options should you decide to put the Ambeo Max at the center of your home audio setup.
Ready to make the move to a bigger, better soundbar? Swing on over to Best Buy to grab this hefty discount on the Sennheiser Ambeo Max, or check out our guide to the best premium soundbars for some of our other favorite picks. If you’re just out looking for a great deal in general, the Amazon Big Spring Sale is underway, and we’ve got a dedicated post with all the best discounts on everything from smartwatches to water bottles.
Tech
ICE Agents Frustrate Airport Workers as Shutdown Drags On
On Thursday, hours-long security lines snaked through New York City’s LaGuardia Airport. The wait was far from the longest in the country—George Bush International Airport in Houston reported three and a half hour lines. Over a month into a partial government shutdown that has left some Department of Homeland Security (DHS) employees working without pay, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents are calling in sick or leaving work en masse, leading to travel chaos around the US. The Trump administration’s solution? Send Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in.
ICE agents were deployed to at least 14 airports on Monday, ostensibly in an effort to speed up security lines—and five days into ICE’s incursion, airport employees are infuriated. The ICE agents, Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) who work for the TSA tell WIRED, don’t have the proper certification and training to perform many of tasks that might truly speed up security lines. The TSA employees say they’re frustrated by the situation—and worried about what it might mean for their future.
ICE agents have been spotted walking in packs, patrolling security lines and baggage areas. They have been seen giving directions to lost passengers, photographed distributing mini water bottles to those waiting in line, and, more often than not, standing around and appearing to do very little. “ICE are here and they’re doing literally nothing to help,” passengers in a security line overheard one airline worker complain on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy airport in New York.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that some passengers stuck in line spotted ICE agents being trained to check passenger IDs and boarding passes. In a hearing in front of the US House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday, TSA acting head Ha Nguyen McNeill said that “the travel document checker function is one of the nonspecialized screen functions of the TSA,” and said ICE agents are being trained to conduct checks.
TSOs say ICE’s presence is frustrating to those working without pay—especially because ICE agents are being paid. “If you want to bring a tactical force into an environment where it’s required to have customer service and a mindset where you know what you’re doing, how to identify something that might be suspicious—they don’t have that training,” says Hydrick Thomas, a security officer and the president of AFGE Local 2222, which covers New York and New Jersey airports.
Security officers say they’re concerned for their coworkers, who, thanks to last fall’s government shutdown, haven’t received a steady paycheck for half of the fiscal year. Agents are worried about paying for rent, mortgages, gas, and childcare. Food banks have stood up drives in several airports, including those in Houston, North Carolina, and San Diego. In Knoxville, Tennessee, airport authorities are accepting donations for employees at a Delta Airlines counter. Eleven percent of airport checkpoint employees called out on Tuesday, compared to four percent pre-shutdown, a federal official testified to Congress on Wednesday morning. Some airports, including those in Houston, Atlanta, New Orleans, and New York’s John F. Kennedy, have seen daily callout rates higher than 35 percent. More than 480 TSA screeners have quit since the shutdown began in February, the agency says.
Long term, security officers say they’re concerned that the federal government plans to replace them with other federal agents, including ICE agents, or private sector employees. One mentioned Project 2025, a blueprint for the second Trump administration published by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which advocates for privatizing TSA altogether.
“A part of the American dream that I was sold was that working for the government was honorable and stable,” Carlos Rodriguez, a security officer and a AFGE TSA Council 100 vice president representing airports Northeastern airports from New Jersey to Vermont. “But this is not honorable or stable at this moment.”
Tech
Skip the TSA Line: Where to Find Travel by Bus, Train, and Boat
Every year, without fail, the US experiences at least one major disruption in air travel due to severe weather, government shutdowns, software outages, or power outages—you name it.
Right now, a partial government shutdown has meant that thousands of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have not been paid for several weeks, causing many to call out of work or quit. That has meant long security lines—more than three-hour waits—ensuing chaos at airports around the country. It’s unclear how long this mess will last, so it’s worth thinking about other options.
Flights are also expensive and hard on the environment. If you can take a bus, train, or ferry to your destination, why shouldn’t you? These travel search apps help you find routes and prices so you can compare them and make the best decision.
Wanderu
Best for Buses and Trains in the US and Canada
In the US and Canada, Wanderu is my go-to search aggregator for travel by bus or train (it works in Europe and the UK, too). Wanderu is your classic travel aggregator, looking up the schedules and prices across several bus and train operators, including Amtrak, BestBus, Flixbus, Greyhound, OurBus, Peter Pan, RedCoach, Vamoose, and others.
You see price comparisons at a glance, as well as options for upgraded class fares, departure and arrival times, and the location of each bus and train station, since sometimes you can save a lot of time by choosing one point over another. Filters help you narrow down your results based on your preferences, and you can book right from the app.
Omio
Compares Trains, Buses, Flights With Excellent Summaries
If you aren’t sure whether you want to travel by land or air, head to Omio. Type in your departure point, destination, and the date you want to travel, and Omio finds routes by plane, bus, and train. A concise summary at the top of the search results tells you the lowest fare and how long it will take for each mode of transportation, so you can make an informed decision quickly. Omio also shows whether the fare will be higher or lower if you travel on a different day of the same week, in case your dates are flexible.
Rome2Rio
Includes Comparison for Driving
Rome2Rio compares prices and times for travel by bus, train, flight, and driving yourself, based on estimated fuel costs. It works reasonably well for trips in the US and Canada. Rome2Rio touts itself as being for worldwide travel, though Europe and the UK seem to be its sweet spot. Elsewhere, take the approach of “trust, but verify,” and this app will take you places.
Virail
Compares Buses, Trains, and Flights
Virail is similar to Omio, comparing travel options by train, bus, and flight, with a neat summary of prices at the top of the search results, although it lacks the total travel time. For that, you have to scroll through the results. To book a ticket, Virail sends you to other websites, and you might have to do additional legwork to reserve your seat. It works reasonably well in the US and Canada (in testing, it got a little tripped up in Mexico), and does well for travel in Europe and the UK.
Vivanoda
Includes Flight and Carpool
Vivanoda (website only, no app) is similar to Omio, comparing all your options for getting between two points—and it includes flights, ferries, and carpool/rideshare options when applicable. The site operates out of the European Union and seems to work slightly better for travel in Europe and the UK than in the US and Canada, where it has some holes. (It didn’t find a direct flight between San Francisco and Vancouver, for example, even though there is more than one daily.)
Seat 61
Best Old-School Site for Trains and Bus Info Worldwide
Seat61, also known as The Man in Seat 61 (website only), has an old-school look and some of the best, most reliable information about traveling by bus and rail all around the world. Mark Smith, who runs the site, tells you exactly where in the world he knows about the train and bus routes: The site lists all the countries it covers on the left side, everywhere from Albania to Zimbabwe. He shares timetables, prices, and even includes photos, though his site is not a search aggregator, and you do have to go elsewhere to book. That said, it’s an excellent resource.
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