---
id: "action-create-compute-council"
type: "action-item"
source_timestamps: ["§ The Incumbent's Energy Playbook", "¶15"]
tags: ["governance", "cross-functional"]
related: ["framework-incumbent-energy-playbook", "contrarian-energy-is-strategic"]
speakers: ["Yinuo Tang", "Eric Yanfei Zhao"]
action: "Create a cross-functional Compute and Energy Council with veto power over major AI deployments."
outcome: "Ensures AI strategy and energy strategy are inseparable and governed at the executive level."
sources: ["futures"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-futures"
originDay: 2
articleStem: "hbr-nm-101-energy-strategy-ai"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/your-company-needs-an-energy-strategy-for-ais-next-phase"
sourceTitle: "Your Company Needs an Energy Strategy for AI’s Next Phase"
---
# Establish a Compute and Energy Council

## Action
Create a cross-functional **Compute and Energy Council** with veto power over major AI deployments.

## Detail
Create a standing council **chaired jointly by the CIO, CFO, procurement leader, and sustainability/operations leader.** Grant it **formal veto power** over major AI deployments. Require the council to review, before any major deployment is approved:
- Model efficiency
- Workload flexibility
- Cloud-region energy risk
- Contract duration

## Outcome
Ensures AI strategy and energy strategy are inseparable and governed at the executive level — Step 5 (the lock-in step) of [[framework-incumbent-energy-playbook]], and the organizational expression of [[contrarian-energy-is-strategic]].

## Counter-perspective
Smaller firms or those primarily buying SaaS AI may find a formal veto body too heavyweight; CIO–CFO coordination plus ESG oversight may suffice. See [[contrarian-energy-is-strategic]].