Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector

The technology sector faces significant nature-related risks due to its high consumption of water, energy, and critical minerals, alongside the generation of massive volumes of e-waste. The report identifies that semiconductor manufacturing consumes over 1 trillion litres of freshwater annually, while data centres draw 60+ GW of energy. To mitigate these impacts, the report recommends seven priority actions: advancing restorative water use, pursuing circularity to reduce pollution, tackling non-power GHG emissions, promoting land stewardship, powering operations sustainably, engaging supply chains, and supporting science-based policy-making. It argues that a nature-positive transition can unlock approximately $800 billion in cost savings and revenue upside by 2030.

• The technology sector's growth is constrained by significant dependencies on natural resources and physical threats from climate change, such as wildfires and rising sea levels. In the US, local opposition based on concerns over natural resources and power led to the blocking or delaying of $64 billion in data centre projects between 2023 and early 2025.
• Semiconductor manufacturing has a massive water footprint, consuming more than 1 trillion litres of freshwater annually. An average plant may use between 18 and 38 million litres of water daily, and the industry is highly vulnerable to droughts, as seen in Taiwan in 2021.
• Data centres are experiencing rapid energy demand growth driven by AI, with global loads projected to reach 95-140 GW by 2028, potentially equaling Japan's total power load in 2023. Hyperscale facilities can require over 1 GW of power, 500-800 acres of land, and more than 7 million litres of water per day for cooling.
• Global e-waste production reached 62 billion kg in 2022 and is expected to grow to 82 billion kg by 2030. Only 22% of global e-waste is recycled, and a significant portion is sent to middle- and low-income countries for processing in unsafe conditions.
• The report identifies seven priority action areas for the tech sector: advancing resilient and restorative water use, mitigating pollution and pursuing circularity, tackling non-power operational and embodied emissions, promoting land stewardship and restoration, powering operations sustainably, engaging with the supply chain, and engaging externally to support policy-making.
• Transitioning to a nature-positive model presents a substantial economic opportunity, with the potential to unlock approximately $800 billion in cost savings and revenue upside by 2030 for businesses across the tech value chain.
• There is a significant gap in corporate nature strategies compared to climate targets: while 78% of Fortune Global 500 companies had climate change targets in 2024, only 12% had targets for biodiversity loss and only 5% had assessed their impacts on nature.
• The report emphasizes the 'double materiality' principle, where companies must address both their financial dependency on nature (e.g., water availability affecting profitability) and their direct impact on nature (e.g., activities affecting water quality).

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Technology_Sector_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Technology_Sector_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector |date=December 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Technology_Sector_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025nature, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Nature_Positive_Role_of_the_Technology_Sector_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }