A 103-year-old company says it has a plan to make AI data centers ‘water-neutral

In today’s CEO Daily: An interview with Ecolab CEO Christophe Beck

The big leadership story: Dow CEO Karen Carter leads the manufacturer into a new era.

The markets: Up globally as investors rediscover their AI optimism.

Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune .

Good morning. We’re seeing pushback in the AI revolution. Some of that comes from concerns about the technology–more than 1,200 employees of the world’s leading AI labs signed a statement this week asking the U.S. government to help build tools to slow down development. Workers and even leaders are pushing policymakers to address the impact on jobs. And there’s the growing controversy around the energy costs and environmental impact of data centers, which continue to expand with U.S. demand projected to double between 2025 and 2027.

Christophe Beck, CEO of Ecolab (No. 280 on the Fortune 500) told me that he’s spent $7 billion in the last six months to address another problem: water usage, as a single facility can currently consume millions of gallons per day. Beck recently closed a $4.75 billion acquisition of Calgary liquid-cooling company CoolIT, and is making related investments around it to help expand Ecolab’s role in high-tech water usage.

It’s an interesting example of how established players can have a stake in an AI-driven future as the acquisition gives this 103-year-old company a deeper role in not just treating water but helping design how chips are cooled, energy is used and the systems are run. The $16 billion-a-year company protects food, water, power and infection control for 3 million customers in 172 countries. “The whole idea is helping companies produce better products, outcomes, yield, and data in ways that are respectful of communities and natural resources,” he said.

CoolIT will help Ecolab double down on its fast-growing and high-margin business of providing ultra-pure water for chips, cooling water for power generation and water management. The acquisition gives it access to a mission-critical layer as CoolIT uses closed-loop technology that captures heat from high-density chips without spraying or evaporating water into the air. “We can generate power, we can’t generate water … we have communities pushing back for a bunch of right reasons,” he said. “Now we have a solution that’s really allowing us to make data centers water-neutral.”

And, Beck adds, it reinforces Ecolab’s sustainability goals and brand promise of “protecting what’s vital.” The company’s 2030 ambition, laid out in 2019, is to cut carbon emissions in half, help customers annually conserve 300 billion gallons of water and protect 2 billion people from foodborne illnesses. As he put it: “What’s not to like? More money, more growth, better impact and unleashing the best industries in the world.” Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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