Sector-wide call for institutions to support the Antalya AI pledge
EAUC, in collaboration with the Higher Education Climate Network of Networks, is calling on the Higher Education and TVET sector to endorse the Antalya AI Pledge at COP31 and help shape a future where AI becomes part of the climate solution, not the climate challenge.
Universities and colleges have a unique role to play in shaping the future of AI. As educators, researchers, purchasers and users of AI technologies, institutions sit at the intersection of innovation, societal responsibility and sustainability. In developing our sector guidance on AI and environmental sustainability alongside JISC, we heard from institutions that many of the challenges associated with AI, from environmental transparency and reporting standards to supplier accountability, cannot be solved by individual institutions acting alone. There is therefore a need for the education sector to engage with the wider AI ecosystem to shape the standards, expectations and accountability mechanisms that will determine AI's environmental impact for years to come.
The Antalya Artificial Intelligence Pledge was developed by Türkiye’s COP31 Presidency in cooperation with the UN specialised agency for digital technologies, International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It brings together governments, businesses and civil society organisations around a shared ambition: ensuring AI is sustainably powered, responsibly designed, transparently measured and accessible to all. The initiative sits within the ITU-convened Green Digital Action, and under the UN Global Climate Action Agenda, which mobilises voluntary climate action beyond the formal COP negotiations.
For the Higher Education and TVET sector, this is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership on one of the defining sustainability challenges of our time. Similar to the way the sector has mobilised through initiatives such as Race to Zero for Universities and Colleges, collective action on AI can help drive greater transparency, improve reporting standards, influence suppliers and establish higher expectations across the wider technology ecosystem.
As both major users and purchasers of AI-enabled technologies, colleges and universities have a unique role to play in shaping demand for more sustainable AI systems. By joining the pledge, institutions can add their voice to a growing global movement while making practical commitments to improve their own practice.
How can universities and colleges take part?
Institutions are invited to formally endorse the Antalya AI Pledge at a whole-institution level and identify at least one area of voluntary commitment that reflects their context. The pledge will be formally launched on 16 November 2026 at the COP31 High-level Green Digital Action Roundtable on AI, taking place on Science, Industry and Technology Day.
Institutions are ideally encouraged to complete endorsement before 16 November 2026, when the pledge will be launched at COP31. Organisations endorsing before launch may be included in public announcements and launch communications. However, endorsement will remain open after COP31 and through to COP32.
To participate, institutions should:
Step 1: Prepare
- Read the full pledge text
Step 2: Identify relevant commitments
- Consider where existing activity and future intent best align with the pledge and identify at least one voluntary commitment from Annex B (page 5 - 6) that reflects your institution’s role, priorities and ambitions
- Please note that some commitments require endorsing organisations to specify additional information, such as a target date, percentage reduction, or other measurable implementation target
- The pledge draws on international standards and technical guidance - you may also find it useful to refer to ITU’s standards on assessing the environmental impact of AI systems, procurement criteria for sustainable data centres and energy-efficiency metrics and measurement for data-centre power and cooling equipment
Step 3: Secure approval
- Engage key internal stakeholders and obtain any internal approvals required through your existing governance and decision-making processes.
Step 4: Submit your endorsement
- Complete the sign up form on behalf of your institution.
- Following submission, the endorsement will be reviewed by ITU for completeness. The organisation may be contacted if any information relating to the selected commitments is missing or requires clarification.
- Once complete, the organization will receive an acknowledgement confirming that its endorsement and selected commitments have been registered. Endorsing stakeholders will be invited to showcase their commitments through the COP31 High-level Green Digital Action Roundtable on AI.
- Optional - Institutions may also choose to register their commitment through ITU’s Partner2Connect (P2C) platform. P2C is a multi-stakeholder initiative that helps to raise the visibility of commitments beyond COP31, with participating organisations periodically recognised through ITU’s communications and engagement activities.
Step 5: Plan your communications
- To be included in the initial launch announcement and coordinated sector communications, institutions are encouraged to submit their endorsement before 16 November 2026. If your institution plans to communicate its participation publicly, please hold any announcements until the pledge is formally launched on 16 November 2026.
- Template social media content is available to support your announcements to be used once the commitments become public on 16 November 2026.
What commitments are most relevant to the Higher Education and TVET sector?
Institutions will be starting from different positions. The most relevant commitments are likely to depend on how your organisation develops, deploys or procures AI technologies.
For institutions developing, hosting or operating AI systems and infrastructure, relevant commitments may include:
A1 - Public disclosure of energy and environmental impacts of AI systems
B1 - Powering AI infrastructure with zero- and low-emission energy
B2 - Adoption of green data centre requirements
B3 - Adoption of resource-efficient AI design guidelines
B4-B5 - Circularity, recyclability and responsible waste management
D3 - Disclosure of net greenhouse gas emissions impacts of AI climate solutions
For institutions as purchasers and consumers of AI services, commitment A2 focuses on requiring suppliers to disclose environmental and energy impacts. This may be particularly relevant for institutions seeking to strengthen sustainable procurement practices and increase transparency across AI supply chains.
For institutions focused on skills, learning and capacity building, commitment C1 relates to training and upskilling stakeholders in AI-related competencies. For example, this could include ambitious organisation-wide efforts to engage staff and students in sustainable AI literacy, or internationally focused capacity building activities with external stakeholders.
What happens after endorsement?
COP31 should be viewed as the starting point rather than the end goal. By endorsing the pledge, institutions commit to supporting its principles and advancing the voluntary actions they have selected.
Following COP31, Green Digital Action, in collaboration with other relevant UN initiatives, will support endorsing stakeholders through practical partnerships, knowledge exchange and implementation approaches. The intention is not to impose mandatory requirements but to encourage continuous improvement, innovation and collective action across sectors.
Further information on reporting and recognition arrangements will be published by the ITU in due course.
Looking for further guidance on sustainability and AI?
EAUC and Jisc's AI and Environmental Sustainability in Post-16 Education: A Practical Guide provides practical advice to help institutions understand and manage the environmental impacts of AI.
Image by Iris,Helen,silvy from Pixabay
| 28 October 2026 | |
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