Path · 7 of 17 chapters · 1 hr 27 min
Produce a number
You have to hand over an emission factor that holds up in front of an auditor.
Read them in this order. The numbers are the ones from the full course: this path skips 10 chapters that do not serve the question.
- 02Why count tokens instead of requests?The unit that makes an AI footprint auditable, and the three token classes a single counter always gets wrong by a factor of 5 to 10.Start here · 9 min read
- 10How much electricity do AI data centres really use?Pins down the IEA figure and its boundary, separates AI from the rest of the sector, and arms you against gigawatt numbers that are announcements, not load.13 min read
- 11What does a figure of 0.24 Wh per request actually cover?The only per-line breakdown a provider has published, what each omitted item costs you, and the questions to ask before accepting any per-request number.11 min read
- 12How do you build an emission factor per token?The five-line formula with its unit checks, the value and range of every parameter, and the one omission that makes it underestimate agentic use.12 min read · technical
- 13Which grid emission factor should you use for a data centre?The three decisions that pick one value out of eight, when the ADEME factor is mandatory in France, and why "our servers are in PJM" is not an answer.15 min read · technical
- 14Why are there two carbon numbers for the same electricity?What each scope 2 method actually records, the Microsoft case that proves market-based tracks purchases rather than consumption, and which number to steer by.12 min read · technical
- 15Water and PUE in an AI data centre: what are the published figures worth?The one question to ask about any water figure, why a hyperscale PUE is not comparable to a survey average, and the defensible default for an uninstrumented site.15 min read · technical