A landmark session on the Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Accord (SDIA), organised by Broadband India Forum (BIF), in collaboration with the Asia-Pacific Data Centre Association (APDCA) concluded successfully yesterday at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, setting the stage for regional industry collaboration to advance sustainable infrastructure development for the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
Highlighting the importance of regional collaboration for sustainable digital infrastructure development, head of the APDCA Secretariat, said, “The Asia-Pacific region, including India, is clearly emerging as a global technology powerhouse, and the momentum and energy at this summit reflect the region’s leadership in the AI ecosystem. Data centres are essential to enabling AI development at scale, and the SDIA demonstrates how the industry has made sustainability a genuine priority for the entire region. The SDIA, once finalised, will establish the first APAC-wide baseline of industry commitments, and provide a structured platform for government-industry dialogue to facilitate discussions on how to raise the bar on sustainability further through regional and global best practices and shared experience.”
Meanwhile, in her address, IAS (Retd.), former secretary (Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Electronics and IT) and chairperson, BIF, emphasised the critical importance of sustainability as a core pillar of digital growth. She said, “As AI becomes central to economic transformation, it is imperative that the infrastructure supporting this growth is sustainable and resilient. This makes it imperative to anchor sustainability targets in the triad this Summit has articulated so well, a planet that can sustain not only our digital ambitions, but the long-term sustainability of the planet itself. Given how the diverse climate, economic, and grid conditions in the APAC region could result in regulatory and policy fragmentation, the SDIA as a regional accord could be valuable for the industry, policymakers, and civil society.”
The session fostered a strong spirit of industry collaboration, with participants emphasising the importance of collective leadership and shared responsibility in advancing sustainability across the digital infrastructure ecosystem. Discussions highlighted the need for continued innovation, coordinated action, and policy support to ensure that infrastructure expansion keeps pace with both technological advancement and environmental priorities.
