Glossary
Key terms in Green AI and sustainable computing
Key terms and concepts in Green AI, sustainable computing, and data center environmental impact. Each definition links to our research, regulations, and case studies.
Green AI
Green AI refers to artificial intelligence systems and practices designed to minimize environmental impact—including ene…
Read definition →PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness)
PUE is the ratio of total facility energy to IT equipment energy. A PUE of 1.0 means all power goes to computing; higher…
Read definition →Carbon Footprint (AI)
The total greenhouse gas emissions associated with AI systems, including operational carbon (training and inference elec…
Read definition →Scope 1, 2, 3 Emissions
Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned sources (generators, refrigerants). Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased elec…
Read definition →WUE (Water Usage Effectiveness)
WUE measures liters of water consumed per kilowatt-hour of IT energy. Data centers use water primarily for cooling. Lowe…
Read definition →Embodied Carbon
Carbon emissions associated with manufacturing, transportation, and disposal of hardware—including GPUs, servers, and ne…
Read definition →Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A methodology for evaluating environmental impacts across the full lifecycle of a product or system—from raw material ex…
Read definition →Green AI Index
A framework developed by the Green AI Institute to evaluate the environmental impact of AI technologies and data centers…
Read definition →Renewable Energy (Data Centers)
Electricity from solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, or other non-fossil sources. Many hyperscalers and data center operator…
Read definition →Liquid Cooling
Cooling technology that uses liquid (often water or specialized fluids) to remove heat from servers, enabling higher pow…
Read definition →Hyperscaler
Large-scale cloud providers (e.g., Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta) that operate massive data center fleets. Hyperscaler…
Read definition →Carbon-Free Energy
Energy from sources that do not emit carbon dioxide, including renewables and nuclear. Often measured on an hourly basis…
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