Episode 5: Water, Data Centers, and Carbon Accounting with Wren CEO Landon Brand

How big is AI’s climate tab, really? This week on AI Playbook, Martin Anquetil, Christian Yeghnazar, and Colin McDonnell sit down with Landon Brand, co-founder and CEO of Wren, to talk about where AI and climate actually collide: carbon accounting, data center emissions, and the often-ignored water bill. Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:18 Who Wren is and what it actually does 04:12 Carbon accounting basics (what gets counted, what gets missed) 08:05 The hidden water bill behind AI and data centers 12:10 Where data center emissions really come from 16:45 What “clean energy mandates” could look like in practice 21:30 How AI can speed up renewable project development 27:05 Funding vetted climate projects, trust, and verification 32:40 Ethical data sourcing and accountability 38:15 Job displacement, new roles, and what “responsible AI” means here 43:50 Non-negotiables for data centers going forward 48:05 Rapid-fire: practical steps for teams and individuals 50:10 Wrap Guest: Landon Brand (Wren) Hosts: Martin Anquetil, Christian Yeghnazar, Colin McDonnell