Welcome to the fourteenth edition of the Jisc Digital Sustainability Newsletter. Each month, we explore the latest news, trends, articles, and insights at the intersection of technology and environmental sustainability.
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Digital sustainability news
Here are the top digital sustainability headlines from across the world. Click on the headline to learn more:
OpenAI cuts AI inference costs 75% with new ultra-efficient data format
By switching to the 4-bit MXFP4 format, OpenAI has reduced the energy use, memory, and hardware needed to run its models – making large AI systems faster, cheaper, and less carbon-intensive to deploy, even on smaller devices.
UK and Czechia sign agreement to develop and export small modular nuclear reactors
The deal includes plans for Rolls-Royce to build SMRs in both countries, with up to six in Czechia and UK projects expected to power 3 million homes by the mid-2030s. Backed by £2.5 billion in UK funding, the partnership aims to boost clean energy capacity, create thousands of high-skilled jobs, and secure a foothold in a global market projected to reach £500 billion by 2050.
‘Green AI’, a coalition of 18 universities joins forces to tackle climate change through software
A new international initiative brings together 18 institutions – including UCL in the UK – to tackle AI’s growing energy demands through software engineering. The coalition aims to bring a software engineering-based approach to measure and reduce AI’s energy use, calling for standardised metrics, hardware-aware accounting, and climate-focused design principles to make future models both efficient and environmentally responsible.
UK ministers weigh fossil fuels to power AI data centre boom
Minutes from the UK AI Energy Council – which includes Google, Microsoft, AWS and energy regulators – reveal tech giants are pushing for temporary gas-powered solutions to bypass grid delays and meet soaring demand. The proposal risks clashing with the UK’s climate goals, as concerns grow over energy costs, infrastructure bottlenecks, and reliance on U.S. firms.
Data centres to be expanded across UK as concerns mount
With nearly 100 new data centres planned in the UK – many backed by US tech giants – experts warn of a steep rise in electricity and water demand, infrastructure strain, and lack of transparency around energy use. Some new sites could add up to 71 TWh to the grid, as debates intensify over cooling methods, planning delays, and who pays the price for AI’s rapid expansion.
Former Microsoft staff call for tech firms to disclose fossil-fuel-enabled emissions
Campaigners who once worked for the tech firm warn that AI tools from Big Tech are quietly powering Big Oil’s expansion – boosting exploration and extraction without public accountability. They’re calling for mandatory reporting of emissions from client activity enabled by AI.
Mushroom-based biodegradable material could transform sustainable electronics
Researchers at Switzerland’s Empa institute have developed a mycelium-derived material with potential to replace plastics in packaging – and even power biodegradable sensors and batteries in future digital devices.
Google reveals first-ever per-query AI energy use in bid for greater transparency
The company estimates a single Gemini text prompt uses 0.24 watt-hours and 0.03g of CO₂ – comparable to a second of microwave use and five drops of water. But critics warn this selective framing downplays total system impact, and call for standardised metrics to truly assess AI’s environmental footprint.
Australian science icon Dr Karl launches AI chatbot to tackle climate denial
Veteran broadcaster and science communicator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is building a chatbot version of himself to counter climate misinformation online, using decades of trusted climate science and aiming to engage sceptics in evidence-based dialogue.
Digital sustainability at Jisc
Here are a few of the digital sustainability initiatives we’ve been working on at Jisc over the last month:
Jisc shortlisted for a National Sustainability Award
We’re excited to share that Jisc has been shortlisted in the Education, Training and Communication category at this year’s National Sustainability Awards. It’s great recognition of the work we’re doing to embed sustainability into digital practices, alongside some inspiring organisations from across the UK.
Podcast spotlight: digital sustainability in teaching and learning
Stay tuned for a future episode of our Beyond the Technology podcast which will explore how digital sustainability is shaping teaching and learning. On 1st October, host Cal Innes on will discuss with guests Jen Maceachan (South Staffs College) and Karen Workman (Coleg y Cymoedd), practical ways education can be more digitally environmentally sustainable. You can find out more and listen to previous episodes of the podcasts by visiting jisc.ac.uk/podcasts, or by searching for “Jisc Beyond the Technology” wherever you get your podcasts.
Jisc to sponsor Digital Futures category at Green Gown Awards
We’re proud to be sponsoring the Digital Futures category at this year’s Green Gown Awards, which highlight sustainability excellence in education. Congratulations to the finalists:
- Fircroft College of Adult Education – The Green Changemakers Hub
- Royal College of Music – Groundbreaking Performance Laboratory
This year’s awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 6 November at the Library of Birmingham.
Resource corner
Each month, we share a digital sustainability report, tool, or resource that we hope you might find useful.
This month, we’re highlighting Cloud Sustainability Statistics: Definition & Efforts in 2025 from Cloudwards. Written by Adeyomola Kazeem and reviewed by Aleksander Hougen and Simona Ivanovski, this comprehensive guide offers a clear overview of where the cloud industry stands on sustainability. It covers major providers’ renewable energy commitments, innovations like immersion cooling and efficient chips, and the growing role of AI and IoT in optimising resource use. The report also breaks down the potential for cloud migration to cut emissions by up to 84% and provides a handy roundup of sustainability tools such as carbon calculators from AWS, Microsoft, and Google.
You can read the full resource here: Cloud Sustainability Statistics (Cloudwards)
Member highlights
In our monthly member highlights, we turn the green spotlight onto one of Jisc’s members in FE and HE who are implementing noteworthy digital sustainability initiatives.
In this edition, we’re delighted to feature the Association for Learning Technology’s Digital Sustainability Special Interest Group – a new and inclusive network designed to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing across the sector. The group brings together colleagues from the sector to explore sustainable digital practices, pedagogy, and the intersection of sustainability with equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.
By creating a space for cross-institutional conversations, the SIG empowers members to share good practice, success stories and resources, while also surfacing the challenges of embedding sustainability across learning technologies, design, and delivery. The group’s remit is firmly rooted in the three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social, and economic – and its members are already shaping a strong and supportive community.
The SIG is co-chaired by The Open University’s Paul Astles and Kathleen Calder, with a wider leadership team drawn from across UK higher education (Dundee University, University College London, University of the Built Environment and Leeds University). Together, they are working to ensure that digital sustainability is not treated as an isolated challenge but as a connected and strategic priority for the whole sector.
Kathleen commented: ‘We are so pleased to have the opportunity to work with colleagues in the sector to address sustainability in our digital activities. Our current main activities are supporting the development of a toolkit and reflecting on our journey as a SIG in how we use and promote digital technologies ourselves in a sustainable way. We would love to hear your thoughts on what digital sustainability means to you in your role and what you consider the main priorities to be. If you would like to partner with us on a blog post, activity or event please get in touch.’
You can learn more about the Digital Sustainability SIG, subscribe to updates, or get involved in upcoming activities via their online community space and LinkedIn.
Digital sustainability articles
Here is 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:
What’s the carbon footprint of using ChatGPT or Gemini?
Published in the Sustainability by Numbers blog, Hannah Ritchie revisits estimates of AI chatbot emissions using new data from Google and OpenAI. She finds that Gemini’s median query now uses just 0.24 Wh of electricity – a dramatic 33-fold efficiency improvement over last year, suggesting significant hardware and software optimisation. The estimate only includes inference and excludes emissions from training, networking, or end-user devices, but even so, the per-query footprint (0.03g CO₂e) is relatively small for most users.
Big tech’s selective disclosure masks AI’s real climate impact
In another informative blog post, Ketan Joshi critiques how major tech companies – particularly Google – are framing the environmental footprint of AI. While Google’s recent report on per-query energy use appears transparent, Joshi argues it distracts from the much larger picture: massive total emissions, fossil-fuelled data centre expansion, and interface design choices that artificially inflate AI usage. Joshi warns that per-query energy stats obscure systemic impacts and enable greenwashing at scale, likening the tactic to earlier oil industry efforts to shift climate responsibility to individuals.
Seven fascinating sustainable data-centre projects
Writing for Raconteur, Tamlin Magee highlights a global collection of unconventional, low-carbon data centres using natural environments for cooling – ranging from a barge on a river in California to a mine-turned-server farm in Norway. The piece explores how hyperscalers are turning to underground facilities, high-altitude cooling, timber construction, and even ocean floors to reduce emissions and water use amid AI-driven demand.
Fixing Friction: Ten Example Principles for DevOps++
In Medium, Wilco Burggraaf outlines ten practical principles for extending DevOps with cost- and carbon-aware practices – a community-led approach he calls DevOps++. From pruning memory and right-sizing compute to embracing WebAssembly and user-perceived performance, the article explores how large enterprises can cut digital waste and improve efficiency without compromising delivery speed.
Exploring How to Power AI Sustainably | National Academies
In The National Academies, Laura Lyon reports on a panel featuring Google’s Cooper Elsworth and Johns Hopkins’ Yury Dvorkin that examines the strain AI workloads are putting on the U.S. power grid. Elsworth noted that over 80% of AI chip lifecycle emissions come from operational electricity use, highlighting clean energy procurement and hardware optimisation as key levers for reducing carbon.
Data centers consume massive amounts of water – companies rarely tell the public exactly how much
Published in The Conversation, Peyton McCauley and Melissa Scanlan examine how water use by AI data centers is surging – and largely invisible to the public. Crucially, indirect water use from scope 2 electricity generation is estimated to be 12 times greater than direct scope 1 water use for cooling, yet often goes unreported.
AI emissions: What we know so far – and more importantly, what we don’t know
In CSO Futures, Melodie Michel reports on the lack of clarity around AI’s environmental impact. Sam Altman recently claimed a ChatGPT query uses 0.34 Wh, but experts argue this vastly underestimates real infrastructure needs, with the IEA putting it closer to 2.9 Wh. The gap reflects different boundaries, namely GPU draw versus full data center costs like cooling, networking, and storage. Without a standard measurement framework, figures remain inconsistent and hard to trust.
Adapting WordPress to Grid-Aware Web Experiences
In Branch, Nahuai Badiola and Nora Ferreirós explore how WordPress – powering 43% of the world’s websites – can adapt to fluctuating grid conditions to reduce energy use. They introduce Grid Aware WP, an open source plugin that adjusts heavy elements like images, fonts, and videos in real time based on grid carbon intensity data from Electricity Maps API. When fossil fuels dominate, the plugin automatically lightens pages and gives users the choice to load resource-heavy content.
These 4 high-tech inventions are giving Mother Nature a fighting chance at a brighter future
In Good, Mark Wales highlights four promising technologies tackling environmental harm head-on: drones reforesting remote landscapes and monitoring illegal logging, biodegradable sensors helping farmers reduce waste, solar farms creating wildlife havens, and underwater robots restoring coral reefs. With human systems often failing to reduce impact at scale, the piece suggests that tech – the same force that accelerated our environmental crisis – could also be our best hope to fix it.
Podcast pick
Zero: The Climate Race – Build small, grow fast: Can small modular reactors live up to the hype?
Host Akshat Rathi sits down with nuclear engineer and VC Rachel Slaybaugh to unpack whether small modular reactors can deliver on their promise. They explore how “economies of number” could replace economies of scale. The discussion digs into realistic use cases, while weighing costs, supply chains, regulation, safety perception, and nuclear waste. A sharp, accessible look at where SMRs might genuinely fit in the clean energy mix.
Events
EAUC – ESD CoP: Rethinking Learning – Risks and Benefits of AI
19th September, 12:30 – 14:00 (Online, MS Teams)
EAUC’s Education for Sustainable networking community of practice kicks off on 19 September 2025 with a session focused on the digital sustainability implications of AI in learning environments. The virtual event invites members from across the education sector to discuss how AI-driven education aligns with environmental, ethical, and systemic sustainability goals. Find out more here.
Jisc driving digital sustainability online workshop
24th September, 10:00 – 14:00 (online, MS Teams)
Designed for IT managers, sustainability leads, and senior leaders in further and higher education, this two hour interactive workshop equips participants with tools to assess their institution’s digital footprint and develop tailored action plans to reduce environmental impact. Through interactive presentations and group activities, attendees will explore cost-saving opportunities, learn to prioritise sustainability interventions, and gain confidence in advocating for greener digital strategies.
FE & Skills Collective: Green Mindset: Micro-Collective
30th October, 10:00 – 16:45 (Deansgate Hotel, Manchester)
On 30 October 2025, the FE & Skills Collective will convene 50 senior leaders at the Manchester Deansgate Hotel for Green Mindset: Micro-Collective. Unlike a traditional conference, this interactive event focuses on embedding systemic sustainability across the FE and skills sector. Keynotes from Jacqui Smith (Skills Minister) and Toby Perkins MP (Environmental Audit Committee) will be followed by panels featuring Charlotte Bonner (EAUC) and Dr Vikki Smith (ETF). Afternoon collective intelligence sessions will co-create a sector report, moving from shared challenges to actionable strategies. Find out more here.
Get Involved
We want to hear from you! Share your comments, suggestions, and digital sustainability highlights. Contact our Subject Specialist for Digital 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.
