The ESG story cloud AI can't tell.
Tokens, kilowatts, and carbon sit on the same chain, but cloud AI breaks it. A practical framework for closing the Scope 2 loop on AI workloads.
Article body
Draft in progress. This article is being written from the outline below. The thesis and structure are final; the prose is still being fleshed out. The Portal page already carries the punchline if you don't want to wait.
1. The chain
Every AI workflow produces the same trail of evidence: a user's prompt becomes tokens; tokens run on a GPU for a measurable number of milliseconds; that compute draws a measurable number of kilowatts; those kilowatts sit inside a grid-emission factor that turns them into kilograms of CO₂e; and all of it costs money. Tokens → compute → kWh → grid factor → CO₂e → £.
2. Where cloud AI breaks the chain
Cloud AI exposes the first and last step: you see the token count, you see the bill. Everything in between is a vendor's private metric, rolled up into an average at best. Google publishes per-prompt figures today; nobody else at the major-provider tier does. For a workload that matters on a sustainability report, that is a gap.
3. What SECR, CSRD, and GHG Scope 2 actually ask for
A real breakdown of what each framework requires, what "market-based" vs "location-based" Scope 2 accounting means for AI workloads, and where cloud-vendor averages fall short of audit-grade evidence.
4. What self-hosting closes
Self-hosted AI closes the chain natively. You own the GPU; you know the kWh; you pick the grid factor (or import your contractual one). With worked-example numbers at a typical fleet size, showing the per-workflow kWh and CO₂e trail an auditor can follow.
5. Decision lens
When self-hosting pays for itself on ESG grounds alone, when it doesn't, and when it's neutral. The honest answer: often it's a break-even on carbon but a win on defensibility, which is the point.
What to read while you wait
- Horizon Portal: the ESG story cloud AI can't tell (the Portal page version of the thesis, with the full six-step chain diagram).
- Data sovereignty governance reference.
- Cost calculator: environmental impact tab.