Welcome to the eight edition of the Jisc Digital Sustainability Newsletter! Each month we delve into the latest news, trends, articles and insights at the intersection of technology and environmental sustainability.
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our DIGITAL-SUSTAINABILITY JiscMail mailing list to receive future editions of the Jisc Digital Sustainability Newsletter direct to your inbox.
Digital Sustainability at Jisc:
Before we dive into the latest digital sustainability news from around the world, we’d like to share some of the initiatives we’re working on at Jisc to promote digital sustainability:
Driving Digital Sustainability Workshops – Places Available
We’re excited to be launching our Driving Digital Sustainability workshop – a practical and engaging session designed for those wanting to learn more about what they as individuals and organisations can do to better understand and embed sustainability best practices across their digital activities.
This 2-hour online workshop is designed to go beyond theoretical discussions and instead offer real-world solutions through identifying high-impact low-cost initiatives. It provides a tailored action plan, practical tools, and clear first steps to embed sustainability into digital operations, helping organisations reduce their environmental footprint and uncover cost-saving opportunities.
- Upcoming Dates:
- 27 February 2025, 10:00–12:00
- 4 June 2025, 10:00–12:00
Spaces are limited to 20 participants per session – so don’t miss out! You can find out more about the Driving Digital Sustainability Workshop here.
FE & Skills Digital Sustainability Community Meetup #3
Join us for the next FE & Skills Digital Sustainability Community Meetup on Wednesday 11th December at 11am This month, we’re diving into two important topics:
- Managing e-waste: Practical tips and strategies to tackle this growing challenge.
- Embedding green skills with digital tools: Explore how technology can support sustainability in education and training.
If you’re not already part of the FE & Skills Digital Sustainability Community, it’s easy to join! Membership is open to anyone working in the FE or Skills sector – just fill out the community registration form to gain access to this and future events.
Appointment of New Sustainability Officer
We’re thrilled to welcome Will Capps as Jisc’s new Sustainability Officer. Will will be supporting our Governance Team to better understand and target our environmental impacts. We look forward to his contributions to enhancing our sustainability efforts!
Latest Digital Sustainability News From Around the World:
Now for a roundup of some of the most interesting global digital sustainability news and developments from the last month. Click on the headline to learn more:
COP29 Declaration Champions Digital Tech for Climate Action
At COP29, global leaders endorsed the Green Digital Action Declaration, highlighting the potential of technologies like AI and IoT to reduce emissions, optimise energy systems, and improve disaster response. The declaration also addresses the environmental challenges of digitalisation, including emissions from data centres, e-waste, and resource consumption. Backed by over 1,000 stakeholders, it sets ambitious goals to power digital infrastructure with clean energy, promote sustainable tech in developing nations, and advance green innovation globally.
Microsoft Trials Wooden Data Centres to Cut Carbon Emissions
Microsoft is pioneering the use of cross-laminated timber in datacentre construction with two new facilities in Northern Virginia. This hybrid design of timber, steel, and concrete aims to reduce embodied carbon by up to 65% compared to typical concrete builds. While the use of cross-laminated timber increases costs by 5-10%, benefits like faster construction and reduced steel usage make it a promising sustainable alternative. This initiative forms part of Microsoft’s push to achieve carbon negativity by 2030, following previous experiments such as underwater datacentres.
New Android Operating System Set to Extend Smartphone Lifespan, Reducing E-Waste
The /e/OS, an open-source Android-based operating system, is set to extend the life of older smartphones by providing software updates to devices no longer supported by manufacturers. This eco-friendly alternative could reduce e-waste by allowing devices to run efficiently for up to five more years, cutting down on the carbon footprint linked to phone manufacturing and disposal. The new software offers support for over 200 models, offering a sustainable solution to the growing problem of tech waste.
Tech Giants Unite to Tackle Data Centre Energy Crisis
Google, Meta, Nvidia, and other industry leaders have joined DCFlex, an initiative launched by the Electric Power Research Institute to address the rising energy demands of U.S. data centres, projected to double by 2030. The group plans to pilot flexible grid technologies and explore renewable alternatives to traditional diesel backup systems. Key strategies include optimising data centre siting in cooler climates and regions with renewable energy potential and implementing carbon-aware computing practices.
EU Data Centre Energy Use Set to Triple by 2030
McKinsey predicts European data centres will consume over 150 TWh annually by 2030, driven by AI and digitisation. Meeting demand will require $250-300bn (US) in infrastructure investment, while sustainability concerns over grid stability and carbon emissions remain pressing challenges.
Rising AI Energy Demand Could Fuel Increased Clean Energy Investments
In contrast to concerns over AI’s growing strain on energy resources mentioned in the previous news article, Bloomberg highlights the opportunities rising power demand brings for clean energy investments. Companies like Amazon and PG&E are addressing this demand to fund renewables, nuclear reactors, and carbon capture technologies, turning energy challenges into drivers for sustainable innovation.
Fujitsu and Supermicro Partner to Develop Energy-Efficient Servers with Liquid Cooling
Fujitsu and Supermicro have announced that they are partnering to create eco-friendly servers featuring Fujitsu’s upcoming 144-core Monaka processor, due in 2027. The collaboration will focus on liquid-cooled solutions for AI, HPC, and green data centres, aiming to minimise environmental impact while maximising performance.
Campaigners Oppose Data Centre Expansion Over Environmental Concerns
Environmentalists in Virginia are challenging data centre growth, citing impacts on electricity demand, water resources, and local infrastructure. “Data Centre Alley” in Virginia faces criticism for its strain on communities. Similar protests in Ireland and Uruguay also aim to highlight sustainability risks associated with the rapid expansion of data centres.
Resource Corner:
Each month, we share a digital sustainability resource that we hope you might find useful.
This month, we would like to recommend The Cloud and the Climate: Navigating AI-Powered Futures, a very well-written, comprehensive and thought-provoking report co-authored by Benjamin Sovacool from the University of Sussex and Jo Lindsay Walton from the Sussex Digital Humanities Lab. Published by the Digital Humanities Climate Coalition, the report explores the environmental impact of AI and cloud computing, highlighting the growing climate footprint of data centres despite advancements in efficiency. It calls attention to the need for improved policy and frameworks, particularly in the area of responsible AI, to address the environmental costs of these rapidly expanding technologies.
You can read the full report here.
Member Highlights:
In our monthly member highlights, we turn the green spotlight onto one of Jisc’s members who are implementing noteworthy digital sustainability initiatives.
This month, we’re proud to feature the University of Worcester for their innovative work in sustainability education through their digital magazine, SusThingsOut. Co-created by students and staff, SusThingsOut shares inspiring stories of how the university community is taking action across curriculum, campus, and the wider community to combat climate change and its impacts, while embedding the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
With its tagline “Change Today to Protect Tomorrow,” SusThingsOut serves as both a public-facing platform and a private educational resource. It showcases live projects, student-led initiatives, and real-world solutions while providing tailored resources for embedding sustainability into the curriculum. By seamlessly integrating teaching, learning, and engagement, the magazine equips students with practical skills, connects academic work with community impact, and inspires action within and beyond the university. Through its dynamic digital approach, SusThingsOut exemplifies how education institutions can use digital paltforms to create accessible, engaging, and impactful sustainability resources.
Katy Boom, the University of Worcester’s Director of Sustainability, commented:
“Informing and encouraging people to change their behaviours to be more sustainable takes creativity. By working with an interdisciplinary team of enthusiastic students they bring this in spades. Co-creating helps us to understand better what motivates people to behave more sustainably.” Katy added: “Developing digital literacy skills and being mindful of the carbon impacts of being sustainable online are important skills for our students to graduate with so that the environmental effects are reduced.”
To explore SusThingsOut and its innovative approach to sustainability, visit susthingsout.com.
Digital Sustainability Articles:
Here are a selection of our favourite articles on digital sustainability from the last month. Click on the title link to be redirected to the full article:
How AI is Helping the Food Sector Tackle Deforestation
Catherine Early, writing for Ethical Corporation Magazine, highlights how AI and satellite data are aiding the food industry in meeting the EU’s Deforestation Regulation. Digital tools are offering traceability and ecological compliance data for commodities such as coffee, soy, and palm oil. While technology enables transparency, experts emphasise that real progress requires actionable steps to combat deforestation on the ground.
Why CIOs Must Lead on ESG and IT Sustainability
Lisa Pratico, writing for CIO, highlights how technology leaders can drive sustainability by aligning IT systems with ESG goals. She emphasises the role of enterprise architecture in reducing IT emissions, managing e-waste, and deploying responsible AI. With IT’s environmental impact growing, Pratico argues that chief information officers must prioritise energy efficiency, circular economy practices, and sustainable innovation to future-proof organisations and meet ESG mandates.
The Future of FinOps: Driving Innovation, Sustainability, and AI Optimisation
An article from Raconteur explores how FinOps is transforming cloud cost management by reducing waste, improving governance, and aligning with sustainability goals. By collaborating with IT Asset Management teams, this piece outlines how organisations can optimise costs, enhance efficiency, and reduce the environmental impact of their cloud usage.
The Environmental Cost of Generative AI
Reece Rogers, writing for WIRED, highlights the massive energy and water demands of generative AI tools, which are now deeply embedded in online experiences. Data centres powering AI strain local grids and consume vast water resources, prompting concerns about sustainability. Companies like Google and Microsoft are exploring solutions, including efficient hardware and smaller AI models, but questions remain about AI’s long-term environmental impact.
Why Aren’t Enterprises Embracing Open-Source Sustainability Software?
Joe Fay, for Tech Monitor, explores why companies are slow to adopt open-source emissions tools, despite their benefits. Businesses prioritise short-term gains over sustainability, but this insightful article argues cost savings and regulations may drive future uptake.
Generative AI’s E-Waste Crisis Looms
Lindsay Clark, writing for The Register, explores alarming predictions of e-waste growth driven by generative AI. New research highlights that without intervention, e-waste from AI servers could rise from 2.6 kilotons annually to as much as 2.5 million tons by 2030. However, the study also shows how circular economy strategies could reduce this waste by up to 86%, offering a path to sustainable innovation amidst the AI boom.
Creating Carbon-Aware Websites
Dryden Williams, writing for The New Stack, explores how developers can design carbon-aware websites that adjust their features based on the carbon intensity of electricity grids. By adapting content dynamically, such as reducing resource-heavy elements during high-intensity periods, websites can minimise environmental impact, save user data, and improve load times — all while supporting a more sustainable internet.
Big Tech’s AI Energy Push Sparks Environmental Concerns
Mohar Chatterjee and Jordan Wolman, writing for Politico, highlight concerns over the environmental impact of AI’s growing energy demands. As tech companies turn to carbon-free energy sources like nuclear power, activists warn of increased emissions, higher energy costs, and delays to renewable energy progress. The debate underscores the need for stricter safeguards to ensure AI innovation aligns with global climate goals.
Counting the Cost of Carbon in the Cloud
Neil Haffenden, writing for Medium, highlights the hidden carbon impact of cloud computing and the urgent need for transparency from providers. By migrating to low-carbon data centres and optimising resource use, MPB cut their platform’s emissions by two-thirds in two years. Haffenden calls for businesses to demand accurate carbon data to drive meaningful climate action.
Get Involved:
We want to hear from you! Share your comments, suggestions, and digital sustainability highlights. Contact our Subject Specialist for Sustainability, Cal Innes, at cal.innes@jisc.ac.uk.
And don’t forget to subscribe to our DIGITAL-SUSTAINABILITY JiscMail mailing list for future editions of the Digital Sustainability Newsletter.
