Optimizing sustainability in IT: key insights from “Tech at the Table” with Roy Ritthaler and Kevin Leslie
In the latest episode of Tech at the Table, Roy Ritthaler, EVP of Customer Value at Flexera, hosted Kevin Leslie, Chief Revenue Officer at Greenpixie, to discuss the evolving landscape of sustainable IT and GreenOps (Green Operations). The conversation uncovered actionable strategies and challenges in green IT, and finished with insights into the impact of AI on cloud costs and emissions. The session provided a thorough look at how sustainability initiatives are transforming the IT landscape. Watch the full episode, or read on for insights:
Breaking down GreenOps and sustainable IT
Industry shifts in Green IT with AI
The session began with Leslie providing a vivid overview of his journey to leading Greenpixie’s operations. He reflected on the maturation of sustainability in IT, noting its progression beyond traditional ESG fluff to a pragmatic, business-driven initiative. Kevin observed that enterprises today focus on sustainability not as a PR tactic, but as a means to derive tangible cost and business benefits. He stated:
“Doing green for the sake of green is kind of nice, but the funding to do things comes from having impact on the business.”
A critical theme explored during the discussion was the shifting cost and emissions landscape driven by AI adoption. Leslie noted that this technology’s explosive growth is creating a “tsunami” of cloud spend and emissions. Addressing these challenges proactively through sustainable IT practices is paramount for organizations aiming to thrive in the long term.
Unpacking challenges in FinOps and DevOps collaboration
One notable highlight was Leslie’s analysis of friction between financial and operational teams in enterprises. He recounted a conversation at AWS re:Invent where a head of engineering dismissed FinOps efforts due to perceived imbalance—focusing too heavily on optimizing costs while neglecting productivity. Leslie compared this tension as “fin people telling the ops what to do,” often leading to passive resistance.
However, GreenOps provides a unique opportunity to align competing departments by tying sustainability, cost performance, and purpose into a cohesive strategy. As Leslie explained:
“Taking a green approach is actually getting those groups to work together in a more collaborative way… Optimizing cost frees up more budget, and that drives organizational alignment.”
He emphasized that engineers, especially those driven by environmental consciousness, can help organizations hit aggressive sustainability benchmarks while improving morale and corporate perception.
AI’s role in transforming IT sustainability
The rapid rise of AI was a recurring focus of the discussion and marked one of the most urgent points of action for businesses. Leslie shared that many organizations are pushing forward with AI initiatives blindly, resulting in skyrocketing costs and emissions. He likened this moment to the early days of cloud adoption—“AI is doing that on speed.”
Proactive design is crucial for managing the sustainability of AI. Leslie outlined Greenpixie’s commitment to not only consolidating cloud data from platforms like AWS, Azure, and GCP, but also incorporating generative AI workloads into the equation. His projection was clear:
“Sustainability by AI is going to supercharge what we’re doing in green ops, and it’s gonna supercharge what happens in fin ops as well.”
Gamification and data-driven sustainability
Another exciting takeaway involved the power of gamification to drive engagement in green IT practices. Many engineers, Leslie explained, are gamers by nature, and organizations can leverage their competitive spirit to tackle sustainability challenges creatively. Companies that provide real-time green and cost metrics can enable engineers to gamify their workload optimization, and foster healthy team-based competition:
“Some teams are more focused around cost, some around sustainability, but… with those two metrics, you drive change.”
In addition to fostering engagement, gamifying green IT empowers individuals to take ownership of sustainability practices, translating organizational strategies into employee-level enthusiasm—a process critical for recruitment and retention in today’s market.
Case study: financial services success
One standout example shared during the session involved Greenpixie’s collaboration with a major financial services client. The organization was able to cut tens of millions in cloud costs and reduce carbon emissions by hundreds of metric tons through sustainability-driven engineering efforts.
Engineers achieved an additional 10% cloud spend savings once they were provided actionable green data, showcasing the tangible benefits of embracing sustainability as a unifying force:
“From an engineer’s perspective, it’s not my money, but it is my planet.”
This case delivers a clear blueprint for companies seeking a win-win solution—with environmental impact and cost savings reinforcing each other.
Navigating sustainability across regions
When discussing geographic trends in GreenOps adoption, Leslie highlighted Europe as a global leader in sustainability accountability, driven by strict regulatory frameworks. In contrast, sustainability efforts in the U.S. are concentrated mainly in states like California and New York. Target customers, Leslie noted, are enterprises with significant cloud footprints—particularly digital-first organizations such as banks, public sector entities, and FMCG companies.
The path forward
GreenOps is no longer a theoretical framework; it’s a pragmatic, actionable approach to marrying sustainability with profitability. As Leslie articulated through anecdotes, case studies, and forward-looking projections, the fusion of cost and environmental consciousness benefits both employees and the broader business ecosystem.
For enterprises grappling with rapidly growing IT complexity, GreenOps offers a powerful framework. With data-driven insights, gamification strategies, and collaboration across finance and operations, organizations can achieve long-term success while protecting the planet—a “double win,” as Leslie aptly described it.
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