The Gellért Campus of Corvinus University of Budapest hosted the Digital Transformation forum of the Hungarian CIO Association (VISZ). The early summer event focused on the growing energy consumption driven by digital transformation — particularly new technologies and artificial intelligence — and how to address this challenge. 

“This topic is highly relevant not only because of rising costs but also due to sustainability concerns,” said Dr Péter Fehér, Director of International Alliances at Corvinus and host of the event. “According to the World Economic Forum, data centres, digital transformation and artificial intelligence together significantly contribute to the rise in global energy demand — with data centre consumption alone expected to grow by over 160% by 2030 if unchecked.” 

Viktor Szabó, Deputy State Secretary for ICT at the Ministry of Energy (and a Corvinus alumnus), highlighted in his presentation that beyond supply security and affordability, managing growing demand and ensuring sustainability are key elements of Hungary’s energy policy vision. Conscious management and informed decision-making require real-time monitoring and intervention capabilities — this is one of the main aims of establishing the Hungarian Energy Data Platform, which supports energy and climate policy objectives through the development and implementation of data-driven services. 

Ferenc Gazdag, Vice-Chair of VISZ, pointed out that it is not only IT devices but also data centre cooling systems, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), and network equipment that play a significant role in overall energy consumption. He outlined several possible solutions for improving energy efficiency: optimising mechanical and infrastructure consumption, advancing telecommunications systems, rewriting applications, making data use more rational, and harnessing waste heat for office and residential heating or for producing domestic hot water. 

At the event, Dr Ildikó Borbásné Szabó, Associate Professor at Corvinus University, drew attention to the organisational impacts beyond IT challenges. 

“Our research highlights how deviations from planned processes can increase IT resource usage and environmental impact. A key question is whether, in pursuit of cost efficiency, we should transform our processes using more and more AI applications — or whether we should also consider IT energy efficiency as a factor in process optimisation,” she noted. 

Participants agreed that optimising processes and digital solutions for energy efficiency is essential, and they believe technological progress will deliver more energy-saving solutions. The panel discussion emphasised that achieving more conscious and cost-efficient energy use requires changing operational habits. This is not just an IT issue, but also a business and leadership responsibility — a mindset shift is needed across entire organisations. 

Corvinus University of Budapest is a member of the Hungarian CIO Association (VISZ).