Earth Day

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It serves as a reminder of our responsibility to safeguard our planet for future generations.

At Solent, we're committed to making a substantive contribution to addressing the challenges presented by the climate and ecological crisis through our teaching, research, campus operations and engagement with students, staff and the wider community.

We are a signatory of Southampton City Council’s Green City Charter and share a vision of a cleaner, greener, healthier and more sustainable city. Through the actions we take as an institution we are helping to deliver their Green City Plan 2030.

You can find more information on the University's environmental and sustainability initiatives on our website. 

Environmental impacts of digital devices*

Do you know how much CO2e the following digital devices use? An email and asking AI a question is relativity low, but gaming could be higher than you think! 

• Emails
  - Sending a single email with no attachments but any size of text content contributes roughly 4g CO2e.
  - Sending a single email with an attachment = 50g CO2e.
• AI
  - One AI text query = 2-10g CO2e.
  - Generating an AI image 50 = 300g CO2e.
• Gaming
  - Online gaming = 100-200g CO2e per hour.
  - Two hours per day gaming on a console could produce around 30-60kg CO2e per year, just by the electricity used to power the console.

*Estimates only

Tips for reducing emissions

• Don’t send unnecessary emails
• Use AI tools efficiently
• Turn off devices when not in use
• Keep laptops and phones for longer before replacing them, consider refurbishments models before buying new

If you have any queries about Solent's environmental impact, please email sustainability@solent.ac.uk