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Understanding AI's Footprint & Using It for your Sustainability Work

Nina Benoit

Sustainability Director, Board advisors

A practical guide for sustainability professionals wanting to use AI.

You're navigating a critical time: climate goals matter more than ever, but AI adoption is accelerating at a crazy pace.

Whether you're leading sustainability efforts in your organization, advising clients on responsible AI, or building expertise as you enter the field, we all have the same questions.

"What's the real carbon cost of different AI models? What about water consumption?"

Yet it's hard to get information and nothing brings it all together into a coherent framework.

This course changes that.

You'll learn the real numbers: how different AI models consume energy and water differently, what drives carbon emissions in training versus inference, and how to lower your footprint. Then you'll master the practical side: which models to use for your sustainability work and how to implement AI tools that makes you life easier and get ahead of the curve.

After completing this course, you will have a clearer perspective on the pros and cons of using AI, when to use it and how to leverage it for sustainability.

What you’ll learn

Understand AI's environmental cost. Master carbon and water impacts. Become a credible expert on AI and Sustainability.

  • Water footprint of AI - how do data centers consume water, ways to reduce their footprint, best practices from big tech - guest professor

  • Carbon footprint of AI - energy required to power AI, limitations due to data availability, how to leverage renewable energy - guest expert

  • How to prompt better & track your impact

  • When to use AI and how it affects your brain

  • Sustainable alternatives to big AI and how they compare

  • Using AI for understanding sustainability regulations, GHG accounting & drafting ESG reports and climate risk - guest expert

  • Best practices on monitoring climate change, measuring biodiversity, helping us manage waste

  • Mini-Bootcamp - brainstorm in a team to create an AI-based solution for sustainability and present it to the rest of the group

Learn directly from Nina

Nina Benoit

Nina Benoit

Director of Sustainability at Brightest & Board of Advisors at GreenPT

See all products from Nina

Who this course is for

  • Sustainability managers and directors

  • Career transition to sustainability

  • Leadership team

What's included

Nina Benoit

Live sessions

Learn directly from Nina Benoit in a real-time, interactive format.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Community of peers

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Certificate of completion

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.

Maven Guarantee

Your purchase is backed by the Maven Guarantee.

Course syllabus

6 live sessions • 3 lessons

Week 1

Oct 5—Oct 11

    Oct

    5

    Session 1: Introduction class

    Mon 10/54:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    Oct

    7

    Session 2: Deep dive into the water footprint of AI

    Wed 10/74:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    What did I learn this week? (Week 1)

    1 item

Week 2

Oct 12—Oct 18

    Oct

    12

    Session 3: Understanding the carbon footprint of AI

    Mon 10/124:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    Oct

    14

    Session 4: Lowering your AI impact in Practice

    Wed 10/144:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    What did I learn this week? (Week 2)

    1 item

Schedule

Live sessions

2 hrs / week

    • Mon, Oct 5

      4:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    • Wed, Oct 7

      4:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    • Mon, Oct 12

      4:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Projects

1 hr / week

Testimonials

  • I recently had the pleasure of hosting Nina for a live webinar in our Climate Careers series, where we explored the future of sustainability careers through the lens of AI. Nina was absolutely incredible, her insights were deeply informed, practical, and thought-provoking. The audience stayed fully engaged, with questions and ideas flowing throughout the entire session. I’m already looking forward to collaborating with Nina again in the future, and I couldn’t recommend her enough!

    Testimonial author image

    Anita Kelava

    Co-Founder
  • I have had the pleasure of working for Nina for nearly two years. She brings a deep expertise across sustainability and AI paired with a genuine curiosity that drives her to continuously learn, grow, and expand her knowledge.


    Nina is an exceptional team leader who carries herself with both confidence and calm, creating a positive and focused environment for those around her. She has a natural ability to guide teams effectively while remaining approachable and supportive.

    She is also a highly skilled public speaker, with a clear passion for engaging and educating her audience. Whether speaking to a small group or a larger audience, Nina communicates with clarity, purpose, and impact. I would highly recommend Nina in any capacity and feel very lucky to have learned so much under her guidance.

    Testimonial author image

    Willow Lynn

    Administrative & Operations Professional
  • I worked with Nina when she spoke at TEDx Coolhaven Women, which I organized. I selected her because I saw something great in her energy and point of view, and she absolutely delivered. I really loved how committed she was throughout the process. She prepared thoroughly and gave a clear, confident, and personal talk that connected well with the audience.

    Nina is a strong speaker with a natural presence on stage. I’m happy to recommend her for future speaking opportunities.

    Testimonial author image

    Natalia Horvath

    TEDx event organizer
  • Nina is a natural team leader at Brightest, where she regularly runs team learning sessions on AI and Sustainability. Her expertise on the subject is evident, and she has a way of translating complex concepts into simple terms for technical and nontechnical audiences alike.

    Nina is both an engaging and enthusiastic teacher who always leaves her students with new perspectives and actionable takeaways from her lessons. She is solutions-oriented, and approaches the conversation around AI and the environment with both pragmatism and optimism. I have learned a lot from Nina and would recommend her course to anyone curious about the intersection of AI and sustainability!

    Testimonial author image

    Bridget Hess

    Executive & Operations Coordinator at Brightest

Frequently asked questions

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Private cohort

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€900

EUR

6 days left to enroll

Oct 5Oct 25
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