Why Sustainability is the Next Frontier for Product Managers

Sustainability is not just a buzzword. As global efforts to combat climate change gain momentum, businesses face increasing pressure to align their practices with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. For product managers, this presents a unique opportunity to lead the charge — to not only create value for their organizations but also drive meaningful change. In fact, sustainability is poised to become as integral to product design as accessibility has in recent years.

The question is, are product managers ready?

Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash

The Intersection of Technology and Sustainability

As the U.S. backtracks on climate programs, other nations and industries are stepping up. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) exemplifies this shift. AI dominates technological investment — just this week, the U.S. announced a $500 billion investment in AI. Yet, few are asking the crucial question: how much energy does this consume? AI algorithms, while transformative, require immense computational power, putting strain on Earth’s resources.

Innovations in energy-efficient computing are addressing these challenges by developing new methods to reduce the energy footprint of computationally intensive processes. For example, cutting-edge server designs and…