Sustainable AI: AI Footprint and What To Do About it

Artificial Intelligence is powerful, but it also uses energy, water, and computing resources at massive scale.

As AI adoption grows, so does its environmental impact. This course is your clear and practical introduction to Sustainable AI: what the AI footprint really is, why it matters, and what individuals, teams and organizations can actually do about it.

You’ll explore how training and running AI models consumes electricity, contributes to CO₂ emissions, and strains water systems through data center cooling. You’ll also learn smart ways to reduce that footprint, like optimizing models, choosing cleaner cloud providers or using efficient hardware.

We’ll walk through some case studies and  you’ll also get an overview of emerging standards and regulations such as the EU AI Act and ISO/IEC 42001 and how they promote sustainable AI.

This course is designed for a general audience. No coding or AI experience needed. Whether you’re a tech professional, sustainability officer, product manager, or just curious about how AI and the environment connect, you’ll walk away with clear insights and practical tools to apply right away.

In summary, you'll:

• Understand how AI training and usage consumes electricity, water, and other resources.

• Learn ways to reduce AI's environmental impact.

• Discover industry best practices and how companies apply sustainable AI today.

• Gain awareness of emerging standards like ISO 42001 and laws like the EU AI Act.

• Get more understanding on the "bright" side of AI.