Environmental Impact

https://taxonomy.eticas.ai/risk/environmental-impact

Maturity: established

The risk that an AI system’s development, deployment, or use causes negative environmental effects, such as excessive energy or water consumption, carbon emissions, or unsustainable use of hardware and resources. This includes hidden impacts across the system’s lifecycle, from model training to long-term operation.

Also known as: Sustainability · Environmental sustainability

Applies to: ALL
Lifecycle stages: Pre Processing, In Processing, Post Processing

Mappings to external frameworks

Compliance

Framework Concept
EU AI Act (Regulation 2024/1689) Article 95 — Codes of conduct for sustainability + Recital 139
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 — AI Management System AI system impact assessment + Annex C objectives

Reference frameworks

Framework Concept
NIST AI 600-1 — Generative AI Risk Profile Environmental Impacts
OECD AI Principles Inclusive growth, sustainable development & environmental sustainability

Taxonomies & vocabularies

Framework Concept
MIT AI Risk Repository Environmental harm
IBM AI Risk Atlas Non-technical → Societal impact → Environmental impact