New Relic reports ISO AI certification & USD $18m savings

New Relic has published its 2026 Impact Report, highlighting ISO/IEC 42001 certification and USD $18 million in GreenOps savings.

The report outlines governance, cost and environmental measures across the software group's operations. New Relic says it is the first observability provider to gain ISO/IEC 42001 certification, an international standard for artificial intelligence management systems.

According to the company, the certification confirms that an independent accredited third party audited and verified its internal Artificial Intelligence Management System for responsible, ethical and transparent AI governance across the full lifecycle of its AI use.

New Relic also published public AI Principles and joined the EU AI Pact as it prepares for compliance with the EU AI Act. It added tighter tool vetting and updated risk frameworks covering data safety and oversight.

AI governance

New Relic linked the certification to a broader expansion of its central Enterprise Risk Management framework. The programme now explicitly tracks and mitigates AI, climate and vendor risks across the business.

It has also embedded environmental data into core risk management processes in support of its 1.5C Science Based Targets as demand for computing resources rises. Under the same oversight structure, the business automated anti-money laundering and know your customer screening.

Ashan Willy, Chief Executive Officer of New Relic, framed the results as part of a combined push on governance and efficiency.

"Operational efficiency and ethical governance are inseparable in the AI era," said Ashan Willy, Chief Executive Officer of New Relic. "By earning the ISO 42001 AI certification and surpassing our cloud cost-savings targets, we are proving that technology platforms can scale responsibly. These milestones cement our commitment to leading the observability industry by example."

GreenOps savings

Its GreenOps programme generated about USD $18 million in savings in FY26, ahead of a USD $15 million target. New Relic attributed the result to more than 80 engineering initiatives, including architectural right-sizing and data archiving.

The company also reported a 10% to 12% reduction in cloud carbon emissions per unit of work. That metric reflects lower emissions intensity rather than an absolute drop in emissions.

Part of that effort involved moving data streams to AWS Graviton 4 processors, which New Relic says are 25% more efficient than previous generations. It also optimised Azure deployments to reduce energy use linked to cross-data centre networking.

The figures reflect a broader push by software companies to tie infrastructure efficiency to both cost control and climate reporting. Cloud workloads tied to AI and analytics have increased scrutiny of electricity use and emissions intensity across the sector.

Wider impact

Beyond AI governance and infrastructure efficiency, the report includes details on renewable energy, workforce participation and social initiatives. New Relic says it bought 5,300 Renewable Energy Certificates to support the Ocotillo Refurbished Wind Farm project in Big Spring, Texas.

According to the company, the project and its partners revitalised 28 wind turbines, extending their operating life by 10 to 12 years and avoiding an estimated 59,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

New Relic says 66% of employees took part in social impact initiatives and logged more than 4,900 volunteer hours. It also provided free platform support to more than 1,100 non-profits through Observability for Good and gave observability training to 3,200 early-career technologists through New Relic for Students.

The company also reported a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index for the second consecutive year.

The publication comes as technology companies face closer scrutiny over how they govern AI systems internally while managing the growing resource demands of cloud computing. For New Relic, the report presents those issues as part of the same operational agenda, with ISO/IEC 42001 certification and USD $18 million in savings as its clearest markers.