🌍 CAT Newsletter 328 - 2026-10-07

Welcome to the ClimateAction.tech (CAT) Newsletter, a curated briefing for people in climate tech. After a short hiatus we’re back with a slightly tweaked format based on subscriber feedback.

We’ve written about what will be different and why in a blog post here. Have a read and let us know what you think.

🐯️ The big story - Viewing tech’s climate challenges through a fossil fuel free internet lens

Earlier this month CAT members were treated to a behind the scenes look at the Green Web Foundation’s (GWF) State of the Fossil-Free Internet 2026 report - The Dirty Data Center Edition . The report (which benefited from input and work from various CATs) was published in April 2026. It’s part of a multifaceted and ambitious push from the GWF to work towards an internet wholly powered by renewables by 2030.

A fossil fuel free internet seemed much more achievable when we started out. Those might not have been GWF Director Chris Adams’ exact words but they’re close enough. When the organisation set out their aims for 2030 Big Tech seemed to be on board. Companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon all had solid net zero commitments but since 2020 all Big Tech firms have sharply deviated from those commitments. The GWF report shows that Data Centers and the AI boom that they are enabling, are a large part of the problem.

While much of the report will come as no surprise to our well informed readers, it' was instructive to get to talk to Chris and others from the report team. Even so, the sheer scale of the data center issue can be surprising. On an individual basis, a hyperscale data center dwarfs well known landmarks (illustrated in this section of the report). Cumulatively they are a growing concern too. The report estimates there are over 10k data centers operating around the world with over 7k planned to come online before 2030.

According to the GWF team the report has been well received though with a little less reach than they’d hoped. That disappointment aside it’s been a useful and impactful document. It’s reached government officials and university professors across Europe which has meant members of the GWF have been able to join working groups and discussion panels they wouldn’t have accessed in the past.

CATs can get involved by:

1. Reading the report and sharing it with your peers and colleagues

2. Exploring the solution pathways in the report and taking action towards them

3. Explore the topics explored in the report in the Green Web Syllabus

📰️ Other news - Responsible AI roundup

As gas powered data centers help to re-carbonise the internet, it’s impossible not to consider the role generative AI plays in their development. In the latest of our Responsible AI series, Sustainable UX founder Thorsten Jonas walked us through some of the design considerations everyone should consider when using AI.

Thorsten laid out the questions we should be asking as well the factors we can control when it comes to using the technology in our work. The talk is summarised in this post on the CAT website , which also contains a link to the replay of the presentation for those who missed it.

📰️ Other news - Green IO London

Apologies if the section gives you as much FIMHMO (Fear I might have missed out) as I’ve been getting but last week saw the latest Green IO conference in London . CATs were there in force and have been raving about how much inspiration and insight was to be had over two packed days.

CAT volunteer G took home 3 key messages:

• In the age of AI and tokenomics, we are no longer optimising to reduce waste but building efficiencies in from the start through smart architecture

• AI tasks can be scheduled to run in periods where energy demand or grid emissions are lower to reduce the climate impact of the tasks

• GreenOPs was a hugely influential message (something that I’ve seen repeated all over my feeds post conference)

For further thoughts and reflections have a read of this post on the always excellent Hidde’s Blog.

🐯️ Three other things worth sharing

1. The business case for digital sustainability - Curated and filterable case studies of organisations who invested in digital sustainability and the benefits they gained as a result.

2. The “CleerDash” from the Sustainable AI Group - Model and compare the electricity, carbon and water (coming soon) requirements of AI, both chat and agentic.

3. AI in Charity Content - A brilliant insight into the ways generative AI is changing how charity content is made and how users find and engage with it.

💼️ Jobs and career advice

Remember only jobs listing salary ranges are listed here - to get your job listed, you need to list a salary range. Folks can still look in the #jobs channel. Remember: if you’re looking for advice finding a role, check our #climate-careers channel .

Loop Lens - Chief Executive Officer - Equity-based - Equity-based - Flexible - remote ok

Loop Lens is a sustainability analytics platform that maps physical material flows to turn operational waste into investor-grade disclosures and commercial value.
How this acts on the climate crisis:
Global greenhouse gas emissions are heavily tied to raw material extraction and production. By utilizing Material Flow Analysis (MFA), Loop Lens helps organizations shift from linear "take-make-waste" setups to a circular economy.
Our platform creates actionable climate impact by:
• Reducing Scope 3 Value Chain Emissions: Tracking and cutting industrial resource waste directly shrinks upstream supply chain footprints.
• Scaling Green Tech: Our tools estimate value from biogas yield and recover rare earth elements out of retiring EVs and turbines, keeping critical materials out of landfills.
By grounding sustainability metrics in physical truth, we replace vague targets with validated, quantifiable circularity gains.

📅 Events

😺 Thu, Oct 8 - Thinking in systems: Mapping the current reality of unsustainable tech [online]: A second workshop in a series of collaborative systems thinking sessions, where we'll continue to map out the complex challenges hindering the development of sustainable technology.



Fri, Oct 9 - Product-Market-Earth FIT Masterclass Rewiring User Habits: Learn how choice architecture and behavioral design can shape climate-conscious user outcomes. Led by Renee Davis, ClimateTech CPO & Strategy Advisor. Hands-on workshop — not a webinar.

😺 Wed, Oct 14 - Responsible AI series: Real-time carbon intelligence with Green Pixie [online]: James Hall from GreenPixie & Mark Buss from OVO join us to explain how to turn digital impact into better decisions.

Wed, Oct 21 - GSF Brighton Experiments in decarbonising digital services: James Chudley will be speaking about decarbonising your user journeys approach to make digital journeys more sustainable

Wed, Nov 4 - Fri, Nov 6 - SOSV Deep Tech Summit: brings together 100+ iconic speakers and 5,000+ attendees to explore what’s next in AI for the Physical World, Human Health, and Climate Resilience

Wed, Nov 4 - AimHi Earth Sustainability Essentials for Professionals: Join our free Sustainability Essentials for Professionals session, a live and interactive crash-course designed to boost clarity, confidence and momentum around sustainability

Mon, Nov 9 - SOSV Deep Tech Co-Founder Search: brings together 500+ founders, scientists, engineers, and operators looking for the right people to build deep tech startups with. Participate with or without an existing project.

😺 Fri, Nov 13 - CAT Book Club: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI [online]: A casual discussion about a book by Cory Doctrow.

Mon, Nov 16 - SOSV Deep Tech VC–Founder Matchup: connects 1,000+ attendees, including 500+ investors, through curated 1:1 meetings across climate, health, and other deep tech sectors

😺 Wed, Dec 2 - Thu, Dec 3 - GreenI/O Paris Conference [in-person]: Where European Tech leaders make code, chips and infrastructure greener and more resilient, one byte at a time.

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