Be Environmentally Responsible

Understand the environmental impact of AI systems and their contribution to digital carbon emissions. Make choices that reduce your digital footprint and support a sustainable future..

Do

  • Assess: Evaluate whether AI is necessary for the task, or if a simpler, non-AI solution would suffice.
  • Select: Choose the AI model or tool that best fits the task, balancing performance and energy use. Consider whether an on-device solution, a cloud-based service, or a smaller model is most appropriate.
  • Keep: Store only what’s essential. Ensure long-term data storage is efficient by reducing file sizes where possible, and use sustainable methods for archiving critical files.
  • Delete: AI can quickly generate large amounts of data, especially multimedia files. Regularly clear out unnecessary or duplicate content to prevent bloated storage and reduce the environmental impact of retaining unneeded data.

Don't

  • Underestimate your role: Don’t overlook the influence you have in reducing the university’s digital carbon footprint. Every decision impacts the overall environmental outcome.
  • Share inefficiently: Avoid sharing AI-generated files without considering the most efficient method, and prevent unnecessary duplication that increases storage and energy costs.
  • Assume AI is carbon neutral: Don’t ignore the environmental impact of AI models. Always factor in the carbon footprint of running and maintaining them.

Find Out More

To learn more about how we can work together to reduce our digital carbon footprint, visit:

Digital Decarbonisation – Reducing our Digital Carbon Footprint. Together