A single AI query uses four to five times the energy of a regular search. Data centers consumed 415 terawatt hours of electricity in 2024 — and that number is projected to more than double by 2030. But the carbon story most people aren't talking about isn't the electricity. It's the equipment.

Kanika Arora Sharma, Principal of Sustainability at Introba, led the research report Hidden Emissions of the Cloud — examining the embodied carbon of data center cooling systems over a 60-year life cycle. She breaks down what a data center physically is, why the mechanical and electrical equipment inside it dominates its carbon footprint over time, what happened when her team asked manufacturers for their carbon data, and what the entertainment industry's studio and streaming infrastructure has to do with all of it.

If you work in film, TV, or production and use cloud tools, AI workflows, or streaming platforms — this episode connects directly to your industry.

💼 Connect with Kanika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arorakanika/

🌐 Introba: https://www.introba.com

🔗 Read Kanika’s report: https://www.introba.com/news/hidden-emissions-cloud

Connect with your hosts:

💼 Zena Harris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/

💼 Mark Rabin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/

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