How Crusoe is Reducing the Carbon Intensity of AI Data Centers

How Crusoe is Reducing the Carbon Intensity of AI Data Centers

Author: Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative October 15, 2025 Duration: 30:50
Hui Wen Chan, Senior Director of Sustainability at Crusoe, describes how the rapid rise of AI is reshaping energy demand and Crusoe’s efforts to design more sustainable data centers. She explains how Crusoe leverages stranded energy sources, repurposed electric vehicle batteries, on-site renewables, and innovative energy-efficient cooling technologies to design and build gigawatt-scale AI data center infrastructure that reduces water and carbon footprints. She also shares why Crusoe emphasizes modularity and location-based energy sourcing, and how its customers—ranging from AI startups to tech hyper-scalers—are integrating climate into their computing strategy. Hui reflects on her path from microfinance and Citi’s ESG team to climate tech and offers practical advice for others pursuing careers at the intersection of AI and sustainability. This episode is a part of our HBS alumni series, which also features Eric Adamson who works on agricultural robotics at Oishii, and Danielle Colson who works at Mantel, a carbon capture technology start-up. Visit our website (climaterising.org) to explore the entire series!

Hosted by the Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative, Climate Rising moves beyond abstract warnings to examine the concrete realities facing companies today. Each episode features candid conversations with senior executives, policymakers, and HBS faculty, dissecting the operational and strategic choices that define a business's relationship to a warming planet. You’ll hear how leaders are navigating pressures from investors, customers, and regulators while making pivotal decisions on everything from supply chain logistics and new technology investments to long-term risk assessment and competitive positioning. This isn't a theoretical discussion; it's a ground-level look at the practical dilemmas and innovations shaping industries. The podcast delves into the nuanced trade-offs managers face, turning climate change from a looming threat into a series of actionable, if complex, business problems. For anyone curious about how the private sector is actually responding-the successes, the stalled efforts, and the evolving playbooks-this series offers an essential and sobering dialogue. Tune in for a direct line to the thinking that is quietly redrawing the corporate map.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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