Departamento de Ciências da Engenharia e da Arquitectura
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Percorrer Departamento de Ciências da Engenharia e da Arquitectura por Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS) "07:Energias Renováveis e Acessíveis"
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- Assessing the carbon footprint of artificial intelligence in higher education: a bibliometric and institutional analysisPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Luetz, Johannes; Almulhim, Abdulaziz I.; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaThe rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across higher education has transformed research, teaching, and institutional operations. Yet its environmental implications remain poorly understood at the institutional level. While a growing literature examines the energy consumption and carbon footprint of AI systems, little is known about how these concerns are recognised or addressed within universities. This study addresses this gap by combining a bibliometric analysis of 461 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus (2014–2025) with a multiple-case study analysis of selected research-intensive universities. The bibliometric analysis reveals a rapidly expanding research landscape dominated by themes such as machine learning, energy consumption, optimisation, and sustainability, alongside a comparatively limited focus on higher education as an institutional context. The case studies, based on sustainability reports, climate action plans, and environmental disclosures, focus on a set of research-intensive universities with substantial AI-related infrastructure. They show a consistent pattern: despite the centrality of high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud-based platforms, institutional reporting of energy and carbon emissions remains aggregated, rarely examining AI-specific impacts. This reveals a governance gap between the expanding scientific understanding of AI’s environmental footprint and the maturity of sustainability practices in academia. The novelty of this study lies in the integration of bibliometric analysis with institutional case study evidence to systematically examine how AI-related energy use and carbon emissions are addressed in higher education. By bridging these two analytical dimensions, the study provides new insight into the disconnect between research advances and institutional practice and highlights the need for dedicated frameworks to account for AI-related energy use and emissions. The study also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), Climate Action (SDG 13), and Quality Education (SDG 4), contributing to the ongoing debate on responsible and sustainable AI in higher education.
- Building a resilient world: the contribution of architecture curricula to sustainable developmentPublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Albrecht, Clarissa Ferreira; Lange Salvia, Amanda; Frandoloso, Marcos Antonio Leite; Henrique, João Paulino Pires Eustachio; Haddrell, Carl; Iyer-Raniga, Usha; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Borsari, Bruno; Diaz-Sarachaga, Jose Manuel; Emadeldin, YasminPurpose: The design of buildings and urban areas holds immense potential to shape sustainability, encompassing considerations of material usage, energy efficiency and environmental impacts throughout construction and life cycle. Architects play a pivotal role in this endeavour. In the evolving landscape of architectural education, there remains a significant gap in understanding the full scope of its potential and challenges. This study aims to explore the role of higher education institutions and explores the extent to which architecture curricula contribute to sustainable development. Design/methodology/approach: The study used an online survey, designed around sustainability frameworks to assess how architecture curricula incorporate sustainability. It gathered 110 responses from 30 countries, with data analysed using non-parametric tests (Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U test) to examine country-level differences and barriers to integrating sustainability. Findings: The findings reveal a prevalent consideration of sustainability in curricula, with a notable emphasis on environmental dimensions, closely followed by social and economic aspects. However, challenges persist, notably the lack of sustainability training for educators and limited time allocation for integrating sustainability components into educational programmes. Originality/value: This study’s novelty lies in its comprehensive investigation into the emphasis placed on sustainability within architecture education. It offers original insights collected from diverse universities worldwide through the documentation of trends observed across 30 countries, providing valuable insights on the training landscape for architects and paving the way for informed strategies to enhance sustainability integration in architectural curricula and practice.
- How can higher education become climate-proof?Publication . Leal Filho, Walter; Raman, Raghu; Lange Salvia, Amanda; Londero, Luciana Brandli; Veiga Ávila, Lucas; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Khaled, Nisrin Naiel DibHigher education institutions (HEIs) are increasingly exposed to climate-related risks, including extreme weather events, infrastructure disruptions, and related social and economic impacts. At the same time, they are expected to play a leading role in advancing sustainability and decarbonisation efforts. In this context, this paper aims to assess how HEIs are preparing to become climate-proof and to identify the institutional strategies, barriers, and priorities that shape the transition towards climate-resilient and sustainable higher education. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research combines comparative case studies of universities implementing climate adaptation and mitigation measures with a global online survey of 404 respondents from 83 countries, making it one of the largest studies on the topic undertaken to date. The case studies show three main typologies of institutional response, i.e., comprehensive integration, operational emphasis, and social–educational engagement, illustrating varying levels of maturity and coordination. The survey findings reveal that although more than half of assessed institutions have initiated inventories or decarbonisation strategies, implementation remains fragmented. Operational measures concentrate on energy systems and waste management, while systemic integration across curricula, governance, and community engagement is less common. Key barriers include limited financial capacity, fragmented institutional priorities, and insufficient stakeholder participation. The study shows that climate-proofing higher education requires transformative and cross-sectoral governance, aligning decarbonisation, education, governance and equity objectives.
- Sustainable generative AI and quantum computing: review assessment on the environmental impact of generative AI and quantum technologiesPublication . Esho, Esther Oreofeoluwa; Akinyelu, Andronicus Ayobami; Dinis, Maria Alzira PimentaThe rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and Quantum Computing (QC) presents transformative opportunities, yet their high computational requirements raise concerns about their environmental sustainability. This comprehensive review examines the ecological footprint of both technologies, focusing on key metrics like energy consumption, carbon emissions, and resource depletion. Findings from existing studies consistently indicate that the impact of GenAI is mostly driven by the immense energy demands of large-scale model training and inference. Moreover, findings from the review reveal that the footprint of QC largely stems from the energy-intensive cryogenic cooling and rare material requirements of its specialized hardware. This paper benchmarks current approaches to environmental assessment, highlighting the important role of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in providing a holistic view of the classification of environmental impacts across the entire supply chain, from manufacturing to disposal. This study proposes a range of domain-specific mitigation strategies, including algorithmic optimizations like pruning and distillation for AI, and cryogenic and material sourcing improvements for quantum systems. This study also proposes a framework for proactive, responsible innovation and identifies some gaps in the literature, such as the lack of standardized metrics and transparent reporting. There is a need to embed eco-conscious principles in the design of future technologies and highlight opportunities where these technologies can be used to handle broader climate challenges. The findings in this study can be used by policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders in aligning technological progress with global climate and sustainability goals.