🌊 True Blue Fellowship 2025

The True Blue Fellowship empowers youth worldwide to protect our ocean, waterways, and climate 🌎 through the power of creative arts whether it is visual storytelling, performance, music, or design, your vision can lead real environmental change in your community. Selected fellows receive up to $2,500, mentorship, and global support to launch their impact-driven projects.

📌 What you need to know:
• Open to youth aged 13-24 (yes, globally!)
• Completely free to apply + participate
• Focused on youth-led, arts-based action for climate and ocean health
• Perfect for creators, activists, and changemakers

📆 Deadline to apply: September 1, 2025

🔗 Dive in: https://bowseat.org/programs/true-blue-fellowship/

#Opportunity

With love, Ecostain 🩶

🍽️ Food waste: a $1 trillion problem we need to solve

We often do not realize just how much food gets wasted around the world. In fact, nearly 1/3 of all food produced never gets eaten. That is not only a huge waste of food, but also of the water, energy, and effort used to grow, transport, and store it.

When food is thrown away and ends up in landfills, it produces methane:

a greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change.

Here is what that looks like in numbers:
• Enough food is wasted each year to feed 2 billion people
• Over $1 trillion in economic value lost globally
• Farmers, retailers, and communities face serious financial impacts
• Increased greenhouse gas emissions harming the planet

The encouraging part? Young people everywhere are finding creative ways to fight back:
1️⃣ Teens in the UK use apps to rescue surplus food and redistribute it (🖇️ link)
2️⃣ Students in Kenya turn food scraps into compost for local gardens (🖇️ link)
3️⃣ Young entrepreneurs in the U.S. create snacks from imperfect fruits and vegetables that usually go to waste (🖇️ link)

What can we do to help?
✔️ Plan meals carefully and buy only what you need
🍏 Support food rescue organizations and zero-waste stores
♻️ Compost food scraps to reduce landfill waste
📣 Talk openly about food waste because it is both a climate issue and an economic one, and together we can make a difference

Together, we can fight food waste for a greener future, Ecostain 🌍🤍

🤖 Veritas AI by Lumiere Education – Fall 2025

Ready to level up your skills in artificial intelligence?

Veritas AI is an international program created by Harvard University alumni for ambitious high school students who want to explore AI and machine learning in depth.

Work with expert mentors, dig into real-world datasets, and build your own AI project to showcase in your university portfolio. 🚀

📌 What you need to know:
• Open to high school students worldwide
• Learn AI + machine learning fundamentals
• Hands-on projects with real datasets
• 1:1 mentorship from Harvard-affiliated experts
• Build a standout portfolio for college applications

❗️Financial Aid is available

📆 Deadline to apply for Fall 2025: August 31, 2025 – 11:59 PM EDT

🔗 Apply now: veritasai.com

#Opportunity

With love, Ecostain 🤍

💻🌍 AI, the Internet, and the invisible carbon we do not see

When we think about climate change, we picture smokestacks, flights, or landfills. However, our digital lives contribute to pollution, too. Every scroll, stream, and AI chatbot response relies on huge data centers (warehouses) packed with servers that consume massive amounts of electricity and water.

📊 The hidden footprint looks like this:
• The internet causes 3 to 4% of global emissions, which is similar to aviation ✈️
• Streaming a movie for two hours is like driving 12 kilometers in a car 🚗
• Training one large AI model can emit as much CO₂ as five cars over their entire lifetime ⚗️
• With rising demand for AI, U.S. data centers could use up to 12% of all electricity by 2028 💡

📌 That sounds alarming, but there is hope. Innovators are already creating real solutions.

✨ Youth-driven and entrepreneurial solutions:
1️⃣ Green data centers such as AirTrunk in Malaysia uses rooftop solar and a 30MW solar farm. Digital Realty powers 1GW of its servers with wind and solar, avoiding 1.8 million tons of CO₂ (🔗 link).
2️⃣ Startups like Submer in Spain and ZutaCore in the USA reduce cooling energy needs by up to 50% using immersion and direct-on-chip cooling (🔗 link).
3️⃣ Sweden's EcoDataCenter pipes heat from servers into homes and greenhouses. UK startup heata turns server warmth into free hot water for families. (🔗 link).

💡What we can do:
✔️Delete unused files and emails to reduce storage needs
✔️Stream consciously, using lower quality when it does not matter
✔️Support tech companies investing in renewable-powered data centers
✔️Advocate for "green AI" in schools, startups, and communities

Our future will not just be physical; it will also be digital. To achieve a greener planet, we must ensure that our digital world operates cleanly.

Together, we can code, stream, and scroll for a sustainable future.

Your Ecostain 💚

🌍 Pioneer Global Problem-Solving Institute (GPSI) – Fall 2025

Ready to dive into challenges with guidance from top university professors?

GPSI is an online program for high school students worldwide to solve complex global problems using systems thinking, design thinking, and interdisciplinary approaches. Work individually and in teams, create innovative solutions, and gain skills that make your college applications stand out. 🚀

📌 What you need to know:
• Open to high school students globally
• Online program: Sept 13 – Dec 13, 2025
• Learn systems thinking, design thinking & interdisciplinary problem-solving
• 1:1 and team mentorship from university professors
• Earn 2 college credits from UNC upon completion
• Financial aid available

📆 Deadline: August 25, 2025 – 11:59 PM ET

🔗 Apply now: pioneeracademics.com/GPSI

#Opportunity

With love, Ecostain 🤍

🌍 Welcome to the International Economics Olympiad: ECOSTAIN

This is your chance to test how well you think like a change-maker!

Across 5 sections and 1 final challenge, you will dive into business, entrepreneurship, sustainability, economics, and marketing, and then use it all to solve a real-world case.

🗓 Date: September 21, 2025

⏰ Start Time: 10:00 AM (GMT+3)
📍 Platform: Google Forms

⸻

📌 Olympiad Structure:

🕒 Total Time: 150 minutes
• 5 Sections × 10 questions each
• Final Business Case Essay

💡 Recommended timeline:
• Sections 1–5: 90 minutes
• Final Case: 60 minutes
🧘 Extra 20 minutes available for flexibility, breaks, and late start

⸻

🧠 Rules & Guidelines:
• ❌ No external help, internet searches, AI tools, or switching tabs
• ✅ One attempt only (no edits after submission)
• 🔎 No proctoring, but we trust your honesty and integrity

“If you need to cheat now, will you survive in a real university or startup pitch?”

⸻

🏅 Recognition:

✨ Top 10 scorers will receive official digital certificates

⸻

💬 Questions? Drop them under this post.

Good luck! The future needs thinkers like you.

#Opportunity

With love, Ecostain 🤍

🌱🏙️ Urban farming: growing green in the city

Cities cover only 3% of the Earth, but they use over 70% of its resources. [🔗 link]
Urban farming helps change that. People are growing food on rooftops, balconies, and in community gardens, and it brings nature back into cities and reduces pollution respectively.

📊 Why it does matter:
• Food travels an average of 1,500 miles before it reaches our plates. Growing food in cities cuts this transport and pollution 🚛
• Rooftop gardens can make buildings 2-4°C cooler, lowering electricity use for air conditioning 🌡️
• Community gardens improve mental health and support pollinators like bees and butterflies 🐝

✨ Real examples:
1️⃣ Infarm in Berlin, Germany grows fresh lettuce, herbs, and microgreens inside grocery stores using 95% less water than normal farming 💧[🔗 link]
2️⃣ Aerofarms in Newark, USA grows leafy greens indoors without soil using aeroponics, saving 95% of water 🌿 [🔗 link]
3️⃣ Paris rooftops grow vegetables and flowers and even host honeybee hives for local honey 🐝 [🔗 link]

💡 What we can do:
✔ Start a small garden at home, school, or balcony
✔ Buy local greens from nearby urban farms
✔ Encourage cities to build more rooftop gardens
✔ Compost food scraps to feed your plants

Even in busy cities, we can grow fresh food and support nature. Let us make our cities greener and healthier for everyone.

Your Ecostain 💚

➕ Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT) – 2025

Founded in 1998, the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT) brings together nearly 1,000 talented students each year, including top performers from national and international olympiads. Distinguished not only by its rigor but also by its community, HMMT is entirely organized by students from Harvard, MIT, and neighboring schools – many of whom are alumni of the competition themselves. ✨

📌 Key Details:
• Eligibility: students under 21, from all countries
• Participation fee: $10 per person | $80 per team
• One of the largest and most respected math tournaments globally
• An opportunity to test your skills against some of the brightest young mathematicians

📆 Application Deadline: September 21, 2025

🔗 More information & registration: hmmt.org

#Opportunity

With love, Ecostain 🩶

🦋🌱 Biodiversity in cities: tiny habitats, big impact

Cities look like urban jungles, but they can also support birds, bees, and butterflies. By growing tiny green spaces, we promote city wildlife survival, and it promotes us in the bargain.

📊 Why it matters:
• Bees and butterflies pollinate 1 in 3 bites of food we eat 🐝
• Urban flower plots increase neighborhood pollinator populations by up to 50% 🌼
• Green spaces boost mental health and reduce stress levels, especially in urban areas with high population density 🧠

✨ Examples from around the world:
1️⃣ London, UK — "Bee bus stops" with wildflowers planted on the rooftops of shelters to attract pollinators 🌸 [🔗 link]
2️⃣ Toronto, Canada — Pollinator corridors that connect green spaces so bees and butterflies can fly safely 🦋 [🔗 link]
3️⃣ Singapore — Parks linked by "eco-corridors" where animals can cross roads and buildings safely 🌳 [🔗 link]

💡 What we can do:
✔ Plant flowers or herbs that attract pollinators on windowsills or balconies
✔ Help local biodiversity projects in your city
✔ Supply a "wild corner" of insects in school grounds or gardens
✔ Build bee hotels out of wood or bamboo

Even a small strip of flowers can be a sanctuary for life. Let us assist in making our cities not only greener, but teeming with buzzing, fluttering life. 🌍💚

Your Ecostain 🌱

In less than 3 days!

Do not forget to invite your friends as well 🙌🏻

🌍 The International Economics Olympiad: ECOSTAIN is LIVE! 🚀

It is finally time to test how well you think like a change-maker.

Dive into business, entrepreneurship, sustainability, economics, and marketing, then solve a real-world case challenge.

🕒 Happening Now
📍 Platform: Google Forms
👉 Join the Olympiad here

⚠️ We had a short delay due to technical issues.
Thank you for waiting 💙

⸻

📌 Structure:
• 5 sections × 10 questions each
• Final Business Case Essay
• Total Time: 150 minutes (with 20 mins flexibility)

⸻

🧠 Rules:
❌ No external help, internet, or AI tools
✅ One attempt only
🔎 Honesty = your real superpower

🏅 Top 10 scorers will receive official digital certificates ✨

⸻

Good luck — the future needs thinkers like you. 🌱

With love,
Ecostain 🤍

➕ Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) – 2025

Founded in 2001, Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) is one of the world’s most prestigious pre-college programs, bringing together motivated high school students from over 150 countries 🌍. With seminars led by Yale faculty, hands-on projects, and a diverse community, YYGS empowers participants to think critically, collaborate globally, and take action on today’s most pressing challenges. ✨

📌 Key Details:
• Eligibility: High school students, ages 16–18, from all countries
• Program Focus: Interdisciplinary learning across STEM, social sciences, humanities, and global issues
• Format: Two-week residential program at Yale University, New Haven, CT
• Alumni Network: 10,000+ young leaders worldwide

📆 Application Deadlines:
• Early Action: October 15, 2025
• Regular Decision: January 7, 2026

🔗 More information & application: https://globalscholars.yale.edu/welcome

#Opportunity

With love,
Ecostain 🩶

🚨The hidden trap killing true sustainability: eco-perfectionism (and why data proves it)

It is happened to every change-maker.

You want to do everything perfectly green: zero waste, zero carbon, zero plastic.
However, perfection has a way of killing what progress would have accomplished.

This is the quiet crisis no one talks about: expecting to be 100% sustainable is stopping real climate action.

📊 The numbers are clear: perfectionism gets in the way

🔍 Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that 69% of shoppers are made to feel "discouraged" when sustainability seems impossible, meaning less eco-friendly behavior in general.
🔗 Yale: The Psychology of Climate Action

🔍 Behavioral Science & Policy Journal found that when people believe only "perfect" sustainability counts, participation drops by 45%. "Good enough" actions actually result in greater long-term change.
🔗 BSPJ: Sustainability and Participation Study

🔍 McKinsey found that climate startups that try to achieve full sustainability from the start have 60% higher operating costs and fail twice as often due to "impact paralysis."
🔗 McKinsey: The Reality of Early-Stage Sustainability

⚠️ Real-world examples: where perfection hurt impact

📉 Impossible Foods delayed expansion for years in search of "perfect taste + perfect sustainability." Competitors grew faster, and the company lost market share.
🔗 Bloomberg: Impossible's Imperfect Reality

📉 Carbon capture pioneer Climeworks admitted that "obsessing over full carbon neutrality" slowed deployment. Subsequently, they shifted to progress over perfection, scaling real CO₂ removal.
🔗 Wired: The Evolution of Climeworks

📉 Zero-waste startups that insisted on only reusable packaging collapsed under price pressure while hybrid models (recycled + reusable) scaled sustainably.
🔗 Fast Company: The Reality of Reusables

💡Who said "enough is better" and won

🏆 Patagonia is not afraid to show its imperfections and publishes repair guides instead of shame. The result? 700% boost in resale activity.
🔗 NYT: Patagonia Repair Program

🏆 Too Good To Go focused on rescuing food, not eliminating all waste, saving over 500 million meals and building a global movement.
🔗 Forbes: Too Good To Go Impact

🏆 IKEA set a 2030 circularity goal without feigning perfection; its transparency sustains public trust and drives steady innovation.
🔗 IKEA Sustainability Report

🧭 The evidence-based truth (no myths, just evidence)

🚫 Perfectionism = paralysis. (McKinsey)
🚫 Unrealistic ideals = less participation. (Yale, BSPJ)
🚫 All-or-nothing thinking = failed implementation. (Impossible Foods, Climeworks)

✅ Progress = measurable change.
✅ Transparency = lasting trust.
✅ "Good enough" action = real sustainability.

No guilt. No paralysis. Just progress.

With balance,
Ecostain 💚

📝 Harvard International Review – HIR Academic Writing Contest 2025

Founded in 1979, the Harvard International Review (HIR) is a prestigious quarterly on international affairs. Since 2020 HIR has run the Academic Writing Contest to spotlight outstanding high-school analysis on global issues. It is a great chance to publish, win medals, and defend your work before Harvard judges. ✨

📌 Key Details:

• Eligibility: High-school students (grades 9–12), US and international entrants welcome.

• Topics: International affairs (e.g., environment, economics, tech, public health, security, trade, urban futures, and more). Choose one of the announced themes.

• Length: 800-1,200 words (diagrams/tables and author declaration excluded).

• Format: Submit an analytically driven article; finalists are invited to a virtual HIR Defense Day to present and defend their piece (15-minute presentation + Q&A).

• Rules: AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) are strictly prohibited; submissions will be screened with multiple AI detectors. Follow AP style and provide source citations.


📆 Submission cycles & deadlines:

• Fall/Winter 2025-26 – Article deadline: January 2, 2026; HIR Defense Day: February 5, 2026.



🏅 Prizes & recognition: Certificates for all submitters; finalists compete for Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals (global top tiers) and public listing on the HIR site (plus opportunities for publication and wider exposure).


🔗 More information & registration: https://hir.harvard.edu/contest/


#Opportunity


With love,
Ecostain 🤍

🚨 The quiet gatekeeping of green: "sustainability for the premium few" – and why that stops real impact 🌍

It is a trap hiding in plain sight.
We celebrate every new "eco" launch… until we notice that most people cannot afford it.

From $200 recycled sneakers to $15 bamboo toothbrushes, sustainability often comes wrapped in exclusivity, and that is killing the movement before it scales.

Let us unpack the myths that got us here 👇

1️⃣ Myth: People will always pay a big green premium.
🔍 Reality: Consumers care about sustainability, but price still decides. Most are willing to pay up to 10% more, not 50%. When green costs too much, it stays niche.
🔗 PwC Voice of the Consumer 2024

💭 Lesson: Sustainability has to compete on price, not just purpose.

2️⃣ Myth: Sustainability is just a marketing feature.
🔍 Reality: Changing materials, logistics, and packaging can raise costs 20-30%. The "green premium" is baked into the supply chain.
🔗 McKinsey: Capturing the Green Premium

💭 Lesson: To make green affordable, we need new materials, smarter manufacturing, and policies that support lower-carbon production.

3️⃣ Myth: Eco-products fail because people do not care enough.
🔍 Reality: Most people do care – they just do not see easy options. Accessibility and convenience matter more than slogans.
🔗 Wiley: The Psychology of Sustainable Choices

💭 Lesson: If sustainability requires effort, it will lose to convenience every time. Design the default, not the exception.

4️⃣ Myth: Big brands cannot scale affordable sustainability.
🔍 Reality: They already are. IKEA is building a circular business model while keeping prices stable, showing that mass sustainability does not have to be luxury.
🔗 IKEA Circular Agenda

💭 Lesson: Real change happens when sustainability becomes invisible, just built in.


🌟 Proof it works:
📦 Too Good To Go focused on rescuing surplus food, not selling moral perfection and saved over 500 million meals globally.
🔗 Too Good To Go Impact Report 2022

👟 Allbirds teamed up with Adidas to launch the world’s lowest-carbon shoe, proving collaboration beats competition.
🔗 Adidas x Allbirds Collaboration


✅ Three rules for founders + funders:
💡 Price for the many, not the few.
🚀 Build convenience before perfection.
🤝 Partner with mainstream players to make green normal.


With practicality and heart,
Ecostain 💚

📝 Hello Tomorrow Challenge – Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge (11th edition, 2025–26)

Founded in 2011, Hello Tomorrow is a global deep-tech organization that connects science-based startups with investors, partners, and industry leaders. Its Global Challenge is the longest-running deep-tech startup competition and spotlights early-stage ventures building breakthrough technologies to solve industrial, societal, and environmental problems. It's a fantastic route to equity-free funding, investor introductions, and high-visibility pitching at Hello Tomorrow’s Summit.

📌 Key Details:

• Eligibility: Early-stage startups (up to Series A) based on a new technology, scientific discovery or complex engineering process; team of ≥2 people; not a subsidiary/spin-off of an existing company.

• Topics / Tracks: Wide deep-tech coverage – Advanced Computing & Cybersecurity; Aerospace; Automotive/Maritime/Rail; Climate Tech & Environment; Digital Health & Medical Devices; Energy; Food & Agriculture; Industrial AI & Robotics; Industrial Biotech & New Materials; Medical Biotech; Resource Efficiency & Circular Systems; Semiconductors & Advanced Electronics; Sustainable Construction & Infrastructure; AI Horizons; Emerging Pioneers (cross-track). Pick the track that best matches your tech.

• Stage / Size (instead of “Length”): Tailored to early commercialization. The Challenge explicitly supports startups from idea / pre-seed (via the Emerging Pioneers prize) through to pre-Series A.

• Format: Apply through Hello Tomorrow’s online application platform (you’ll complete the application form and upload supporting materials via the portal). Selected teams join the Deep Tech Pioneers community; finalists pitch on the Pioneers Stage at the Hello Tomorrow Summit.

• Rules / notes: The program prioritizes genuinely novel technology and independent startups (not subsidiaries). There is a dedicated Emerging Pioneers prize for very early teams. Always read the Challenge Terms & FAQ on the site before submitting.


📆 Submission cycles & deadlines:

• Applications open: September 15, 2025.

• Q&A / AMA sessions: September – November 2025 (check site for dates).

• Early applications close (for feedback): October 31, 2025.

• Final applications close: November 30, 2025.

• Deep Tech Pioneers selected: January 2026.

• Finalists announced: March 2026.

• Hello Tomorrow Summit & Challenge Finals (Amsterdam): June 11–12, 2026 (Investor Day on June 10).


🏅 Prizes & recognition:

• Equity-free funding opportunity ( headline figure on the site: €100K equity-free) and tailored investor access.

• Massive investor exposure: access to Hello Tomorrow’s investor network and Investor Day (350+ VCs/CVCs).

• Deep Tech Pioneers community & Summit stage: finalists pitch to an expert jury and get global media / partner exposure; 70 Pioneers exhibit at the Summit.

• Proven track record: past winners and finalists have gone on to raise significant capital (site notes >$4B raised across winners/finalists).


🔗 More information & registration: official Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge page.


#Opportunity


With love,
Ecostain 🤍

🚨 The silent killer of sustainability: the data problem, and why it is holding back real impact 🌍

It hides behind good intentions. We talk about "net zero," "ESG," and "impact," but ask most companies for hard proof, and you will get spreadsheets, estimates, and hope.

Without real data, sustainability turns into marketing. That what is killing credibility before change even starts.

Let us unpack the myths that got us here 👇

1️⃣ Myth: "We are already tracking our footprint."
🔍 Reality: Most firms can't measure their full emissions, especially Scope 3, which makes up the majority of their value-chain impact. The Greenhouse Gas Protocol's “Scope 3 Standard" is the globally accepted method.
🔗 Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard | GHG Protocol

💭 Lesson: If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Real sustainability starts with verified numbers, not press releases.


2️⃣ Myth: "Offsets make us carbon neutral."
🔍 Reality: Many offsets simply shift responsibility rather than reduce actual emissions. Researchers call offsets "phantom credits" in many cases.
🔗 Corporations invested in carbon offsets that were 'likely junk', analysis says

💭 Lesson: Prevention beats compensation. Fix the source before you fund the symptom.


3️⃣ Myth: "Data is a back-office job."
🔍 Reality: It is the backbone of credibility. The EU Green Claims Directive is moving to require that green claims are verifiable, comparable, and evidence-based.
🔗 Green claims directive: Council ready to start talks with the European Parliament - Consilium

💭 Lesson: Treat impact data like financial data: audited, structured and public.


4️⃣ Myth: "Accurate tracking is too expensive."
🔍 Reality: Ignorance costs more. Regulatory risk, lost trust, investor pushback – the hit is worse than the investment. The EU has adopted laws strengthening consumer rights for the green transition.
🔗 Consumer rights: final approval for the directive to empower consumers for
the green transition

💭 Lesson: Data is cheaper than scandal. Transparency pays for itself.


🌟 Proof it works:
📊 Some firms have built internal systems where every shipment, material change, supplier audit feeds into live dashboards. I have seen one small brand with ~40 employees build supplier-emission tracking from day one, going from "no idea" to full visibility in 12 months.


✅ Three rules for founders + funders:
💡 Measure before you market. No data = no credibility.
⚙️ Build systems, not slogans. Make tracking automatic, not optional.
🤝 Collaborate on transparency. Shared data builds shared progress.


With honesty and precision,
Ecostain 💚

📝 Keep The Future Human Creative Contest – Future of Life Institute (2025 Edition)

The Future of Life Institute is a global nonprofit focused on steering emerging technologies toward positive, human-centered outcomes. Their Keep The Future Human Creative Contest invites creators to translate the ideas from the "Keep The Future Human" essay into powerful visual or written formats that inspire public action. This is a sharp opportunity for visibility, prize funding, and creative impact in one of the most influential tech-ethics communities worldwide.

📌 Key Details:

• Eligibility: Open to everyone (no age, nationality, or background restrictions).

• Topics / Tracks: Any creative format that communicates the themes of technological responsibility and human-centered futures. Accepted categories include: video, essay, infographic, interactive project, or mixed-media submission.

• Stage / Size: Suitable for individuals and small teams; early creators welcome. No portfolio required.

• Format: Submit your work through the contest’s online submission portal. Each entry must directly reflect or expand ideas from the official “Keep The Future Human” essay.

• Rules / Notes: You can submit in multiple formats. All submissions must be original and must clearly engage with the essay’s concepts. Always check the Contest Guidelines & FAQ before applying.


📆 Submission cycles & deadlines:

• Submissions open: Already open (2025 cycle).

• Creators' Q&A sessions: Throughout 2025 (check site for dates).

• Submission deadline: November 30, 2025.

• Review & selection: December 2025 – January 2026.

• Winners announced: Early 2026.


🏅 Prizes & recognition:

• Cash prizes up to $10,000 for top entries.

• Special grants & merchandise awards.

• Visibility within the Future of Life Institute’s global network of AI researchers, safety experts, and policy innovators.

• Potential outreach amplification: selected works may be featured in FLI campaigns and global digital exhibitions.

🔗 More information & registration: https://keepthefuturehuman.ai/contest/

#Opportunity

With love,
Ecostain 🤍

🚨 The invisible climate cost of our screens: why digital infrastructure and AI are the next front in sustainability 🌐

We celebrate renewable pledges and clean tech, but one fast-growing blind spot is the emissions hiding inside our digital lives: the servers, networks, chips, and models that power everything from video calls to large language models. These impacts are real, tricky to measure, and already material for companies’ Scope 3 accounting. If we do not treat digital footprints as first-class climate risks, "tech for good" can easily become "greenwashing 2.0."

Let us unpack the myths that keep this hidden 👇

1️⃣ Myth: "The cloud is magically green. We buy renewables so it is carbon-free."
🔍 Reality: Data centres already consume hundreds of TWh/year and, driven by AI, demand could more than double by 2030. Clean power helps, but location, timing, and grid mix matter; renewable contracts do not erase real-time emissions.
🔗 Tracking Data Centres and Data Transmission Networks

💭 Lesson: Count real operational emissions (hourly grid intensity), not just annual RECs.


2️⃣ Myth: "Software has negligible embodied impact, only electricity counts."
🔍 Reality: Software choices change hardware demand (more GPUs, shorter refresh cycles). The embodied carbon of chips and fab processes is non-trivial and shows up in lifecycle accounting. Ignoring embodied emissions understates full impact.
🔗 Data Centre Energy Use:
Critical Review of Models
and Results

💭 Lesson: Track both operational energy and embodied emissions from silicon and datacenter hardware.


3️⃣ Myth: "We can estimate AI/ML emissions with a single number."
🔍 Reality: Training, inference, experimentation, storage and developer experimentation all differ wildly. Recent modelling frameworks show end-to-end carbon for large language models must include training, inference, and embodied hardware – otherwise you miss most of the story.
🔗 LLMCarbon: Modeling the end-to-end Carbon Footprint of Large Language Models

💭 Lesson: Use end-to-end models and publish assumptions (compute hours, region, PUE, chip type).


4️⃣ Myth: "Scope 3 will not include software because it is a supplier issue."
🔍 Reality: The GHG Protocol and stakeholder consultations are moving to explicitly include software and cloud as material Scope 3 categories; companies will need shared, verifiable metrics like Software Carbon Intensity (SCI). Without supplier transparency, corporate claims remain unverifiable.
🔗 Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Summary of Scope 3 Proposals

💭 Lesson: Push cloud providers for standardized SCI data and make software emissions auditable.


🌟 Proof it works (and how to start):
Measurement + design reduces waste. Teams that instrument model training (tracking GPU hours, PUE, region) and optimize inference (quantization, batching, regional routing) cut real emissions, and cost, by double digits. Use SCI guidance, report assumptions, and include embodied estimates when buying hardware.


✅ Three rules for founders, builders & funders:
1️⃣ Measure end-to-end: training, inference, storage, hardware lifecycle.
2️⃣ Demand standardized SCI from vendors: do not accept black-box numbers.
3️⃣ Optimize for carbon per useful unit (per query, per user-hour), not per-server.


With clarity and data,
Ecostain 💚