Standardization for AI Environmental Sustainability
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Access to the Report
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| Faced with the rapid growth in AI use and the growing awareness of its environmental impact, numerous initiatives are underway around the world to better assess this impact, and to develop guidelines and
standards on how to calculate, report, reduce and prevent its environmental impacts. Besides reasons of compliance, measuring the environmental impact of AI systems should be a reflection of environmental sustainability as a value throughout the AI lifecycle which is globally applicable. These initiatives face several difficulties, including a limited number of experts with dual competency in Artificial Intelligence and environmental sustainability, compounded by knowledge gaps due to the lack of robust qualitative and quantitative data. To avoid the development of conflicting or contradicting methodologies that would undermine global efforts to increase the environmental sustainability of AI systems, and to make the most of the expertise available internationally on this topic, a common approach is essential to bring visibility to those initiatives that already exist and to define collaboration opportunities to enhance a common approach to Sustainable AI.
| 2026
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Climate Transition Planning Guidance for Telecommunication Coampanies
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| This guidance supports telecommunication companies to understand the key requirements of a climate transition plan so that they may effectively undertake the process and derive
maximum benefit from it. Central to this guidance is a framework for operators to develop robust and meaningful climate transition plans to drive implementation of their net zero strategy within their organisation, as well as inform external stakeholders, and influence wider systemic change.
| 2025
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Guidelines for the development of national systems for integral management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Latin America
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Access to the Report
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| The purpose of this document is to propose minimum guidelines for Latin American countries and other regions to structure their national systems for the integral management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The document addresses various aspects relevant to the planning and implementation of a national WEEE management system based on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and includes experiences and results from the PREAL project, which has contributed significantly to establishing adequate WEEE management in the region. To this end, it details the basic elements of a national WEEE management system, including the legal and policy framework, collection systems, financing, control and monitoring, and training and awareness-raising for the actors involved. In addition, it presents technical and informational guides developed within the framework of PREAL to support the implementation of these systems.
| 2025
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Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Latin America: Current situation and outlook
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Access to the Report
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| This document summarizes the progress made in WEEE management by the 13 participating countries in the form of fact sheets, focusing on key aspects of legal and regulatory frameworks and collection systems. It also presents the current situation in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico as examples of other Latin American countries that have also developed legal frameworks for the comprehensive management of WEEE and have made considerable progress in establishing management systems. For illustrative purposes, fact sheets on the current state of WEEE management in other regions of the world are also presented, taking France and Japan as example.
| 2025
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AI Standards for Global Impact: From Governance to Action
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| The ITU AI Readiness Framework provides a structured approach for countries and other stakeholders to assess their readiness to adopt and deploy AI. It evaluates key enabling factors—including data, research capacity, deployment infrastructure and ecosystems, standards, open-source resources, and sandbox environments—and aims to develop common assessment indicators and a practical toolkit for identifying gaps and guiding investment, capacity building, and responsible AI adoption.
| 2025
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Measuring what matters: How to assess AI’s environmental
impact
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| As AI rapidly transforms industries, concerns about its environmental impact—including energy-intensive training, ongoing inference workloads, and resource-heavy supply chains—are growing. The lack of standardized, transparent metrics for measuring AI’s footprint leads to inconsistent reporting and impedes progress toward sustainability. Green Digital Action brings together public and private stakeholders to address these challenges. By identifying measurement gaps, developing actionable guidance, and promoting cross-sector collaboration, the initiative aims to provide clear insights into AI’s energy use, water consumption, and carbon emissions. This effort empowers organizations to make informed, sustainable decisions about AI deployment, aligning technological progress with environmental stewardship for a greener future.
| 2025
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White Paper on the Safety of lithium-ion battery applications in data centres
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Access to the Report
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| Improving the fire safety conditions of lithium-ion batteries for power backup and power supply in data centres, upgrading the fire safety management level, and enhancing the fire extinguishing and rescue capabilities are critical measures to ensure the overall reliability of data centres and service systems, which is one of the key safety factors essential for ensuring the sustainable development of the entire lithium-ion batteryindustry chain.
In this context, this White paper on the Safety of lithium-ion battery applications in data centres, based on extensive research, in-depth analysis, and collective discussion and review, aims to encourage stakeholders to implement effective fire safety measures. It also seeks to promote technological breakthroughs in the intrinsic safety of lithium-ion batteries, minimizing the fire risks and hazards associated with them. The goal is to ensure the safe and stable operation of data centres, while fostering a secure fire-safety environment. This will support the development of an intelligent computing ecosystem centred around evolving data centres.
| 2025
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White Paper on Lithium Batteries for Telecom Sites
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Access to the Report
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| This white paper provides an overview for lithium batteries focusing more on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) technology application in the telecom industry, and contributes to ensuring safety across the entire lithium
battery supply chain. Focused on the theme of “building a high-quality and reliable battery infrastructure for telecom networks”, this white paper discusses the safety of lithium batteries in telecom sites, analyses the terminology of “high-quality lithium battery,” and contributes to promoting the safe, reliable and efficient application of lithium batteries in the telecom industry.
| 2025
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Standardization for
AI Environmental
Sustainability
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Access to the Report
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| To avoid the development of conflicting orcontradicting methodologies that would undermine global efforts to increase the environmental sustainability of AI systems, and to make the most of the expertise available internationally on this topic, a common approach is essential to bring visibility to those initiatives that already exist and to define collaboration opportunities to enhance a common approach to Sustainable AI.
The objective of this approach is to ensure the efficient use of resources, enhance clarity, promote consistency in AI environmental sustainability standardization, and facilitate the widespread adoption of best practices. The intention of its contributors is to work towards non-conflicting standards and to foster collaboration between international standardization bodies to minimize, as much as possible, their duplication, contradiction and overlap.
| 2025
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AI and the Environment - 2024 Report
| Access to the Report
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| This document serves as an essential resource for governments and the industry and, offering comprehensive insights into the current standards landscape and ongoing efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of AI. It not only details how to build and implement sustainable practices but also emphasizes the importance of measuring progress. Accurate measurement is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and making informed decisions
to drive further improvements. The report also underscores the importance of collaboration among experts, academia, member states, and standards development organizations (SDOs) to achieve these goals. By adopting a unified approach to standardization, we can ensure that AI contribute positively to our collective goal of achieving global sustainability targets.
| 2024
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Measuring the Emissions and Energy Footprint of the ICT Sector: Implications for Climate Action
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| The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector finds itself at a pivotal moment - while propelling digital transformation across the globe, it is also contributing to climate change. Enabling more people to get online and to use the Internet productively can help deliver massive development payoffs, including by helping communities become more resilient to climate change through improved access to information and service delivery. Despite the sector's remarkable growth, 2.6 billion people remain offline. In addition, the sector's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rival those of the aviation industry, and its energy requirements often impose pressure on resources.
| 2024
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The Global E-waste Monitor 2024
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| The fourth of edition of the Global E-waste Monitor funded and prepared in partnership by the UNITAR SCYCLE Programme, ITU, and Fondation Carmignac. The Monitor is an indispensable reference tool for both policymakers and industry that shows the position of the world in terms of the global e-waste challenge. It provides the most up-to-date overview of global e-waste data, statistics, and progress in policy and regulation.
| 2024
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