LIFE COMPASS

The environmental footprint of artificial intelligence, cloud services and data-intensive digital infrastructures is growing, yet it remains insufficiently governed. Existing monitoring and reporting approaches are fragmented across software, infrastructure and lifecycle levels, which limits the ability of public authorities, operators and institutional users to integrate environmental evidence into decision-making.

LIFE COMPASS will develop, pilot and validate a harmonised multi-level Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) framework for AI-driven digital systems. It integrates Energy per Inference, Software Carbon Intensity, Carbon Usage Effectiveness, Water Usage Effectiveness, a Carbon Awareness Score and lifecycle assessment approaches.

The project combines governance assessment, stakeholder engagement, MRV development, capacity building and impact evaluation. Tailored learning pathways support policy makers, regulators, infrastructure operators, AI service providers and institutional end-users in applying MRV information to climate reporting, policy implementation, procurement and operational decisions. Environmental, economic, behavioural and organisational impacts are assessed through LCA, LCC, Social-LCA and project-specific indicators. Replication guidelines and an After-LIFE sustainability and exploitation plan support uptake beyond the consortium.

Through cooperation among partners in Italy, Estonia, Germany and Portugal, LIFE COMPASS will make the climate and resource impacts of AI-driven digital systems more visible, comparable and governable, supporting sustainable digitalisation and the implementation of EU climate policy.