AI-First Design Principles

Unity Environmental University’s commitment to being an AI-First organization requires more than simply adopting innovative technologies. It requires a clear and intentional framework that ensures artificial intelligence is integrated in ways that are strategic, responsible, and aligned with our mission. These design principles provide that framework.

The principles outlined here serve as both a compass and a standard. They guide decision-making about where and how AI is deployed, ensuring every initiative supports Unity’s mission of sustainability, stewardship, and learner success. They establish expectations for accountability, transparency, and measurable outcomes so that AI investments deliver demonstrable value to learners, employees, and the institution as a whole. They reinforce that AI is a partner and not a replacement, a collaborator that amplifies human capacity, improves efficiency, expands access, and opens new opportunities for growth.

These principles will be used to evaluate AI opportunities during procurement and scaling. They will also serve as a foundation for creating key performance indicators that can be tailored to specific initiatives, enabling Unity to measure progress consistently. By guiding expectations for design and deployment, these principles provide a structure for ongoing assessment and adaptation.

By adhering to these design principles, Unity ensures that artificial intelligence strengthens our mission. They are a living framework that will be reviewed and adapted as technology and institutional needs evolve. This approach allows Unity to remain at the forefront of innovation while grounded in accountability and learner-centered values.

Some may question whether artificial intelligence is compatible with Unity Environmental University’s mission of sustainability and environmental stewardship, given the significant energy and water demands associated with these technologies. We recognize that AI carries environmental costs. Research cited in the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fifth National Climate Assessment underscores that the United States is warming faster than the global average, and that the consequences fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations.

Emerging research further shows that training a single large AI model can generate nearly five times the lifetime emissions of the average American car and that data centers already consume about four percent of U.S. electricity. These facilities also demand extraordinary volumes of water for cooling. A recent University of California Riverside study estimated that training GPT-3 consumed over 700,000 liters of fresh water roughly equivalent to producing hundreds of cars or thousands of pounds of beef. Water demand is a growing concern, particularly in regions already experiencing drought or watershed stress.

As an environmental institution, our responsibility is not to ignore AI, but to confront its challenges directly. AI has the potential to reduce the financial and structural barriers that make higher education inaccessible for many learners, which is itself an issue of sustainability and equity. Unity must lead by both adopting these tools thoughtfully and working to solve the energy and water challenges they present.

Unity’s approach to AI and technology adoption includes choosing cloud and AI providers that are powered by renewable energy, prioritizing energy-efficient models, and adopting policies that minimize unnecessary computational intensity. Our commitment is reinforced by the renewable energy goals of our core technology partners that have all committed to operating on 100 percent renewable energy milestones. We are choosing solutions built on leading cloud platforms that will run entirely on renewable energy by 2030. Importantly, our core solutions have also pledged to become “water positive” by 2030, meaning they will replenish more water than they consume in their operations. This includes investments in water-efficient cooling technologies, wastewater reuse, and local watershed restoration projects. Unity will continue to prioritize AI and cloud partners that disclose water usage metrics, adopt water-efficient cooling technologies, and invest in water replenishment projects.

Equally important, Unity will educate learners about the environmental footprint of AI as part of digital literacy and responsible technology use, preparing graduates to shape sustainable solutions in their careers. In this way, our adoption of AI is not a departure from our sustainability mission but an extension of it. We commit to leveraging AI to expand access, reduce barriers, and prepare learners, while also innovating toward solutions that lower its environmental costs and align with global stewardship. As an environmental university, Unity embraces this complexity. We cannot dismiss technologies with challenges, but instead engage with them responsibly, address their shortcomings, and prepare our learners to innovate solutions.