Why AI and Digital Technologies Matter for Sustainability
Sustainability Week returns to Richmond this November, and the theme this season is AI and Digital Technologies.
AI is now embedded in professional industries, higher education and everyday life, and its environmental impact is growing. As these tools become permanent, organisations and institutions should be aware of the implications and work towards managing that impact.
As a member of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), representing London and the Southwest, Richmond American University London is committed to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education, research and community engagement. Our Sustainability Weeks bring together our community, including staff, students and local businesses to learn together and collaborate towards sustainable practices within higher education, business and beyond.
November Sustainability Week โ Whatโs On
Between 9 and 12 November, Sustainability Week at Richmond brings four days of events, training, exhibitions and activities with AI and Digital Technologies in focus. Discover how you can become a sustainability champion and join the community on our London campus in Chiswick Business Park.
Bring Your Own Cup, Save 50p
The Cafรฉ
Single-use cups get used for minutes and stick around for centuries, and most can not even be recycled. Bring any reusable cup to the cafรฉ and get 50p off any hot drink. Over a term, that is more than ยฃ50 back in your pocket. Small sip. Big difference.
Discover the Library: Your AI and Digital Toolkit
Library
Pop in to explore books, e-journals, databases and digital skills support, plus friendly staff who can help you use AI responsibly and find sources you can trust. No question is too basic.
Rethink, Reuse, Recycle
Student Affairs stand, around campus
Find out where to recycle old phones, chargers and cables on campus, how the circular economy keeps products in use for longer, and how getting involved in sustainability can count towards your Richmond Leadership Award.
Our 2025/26 Sustainability Report
Reception
See the highlights from our latest Sustainability Report, take the quiz and win prizes.
Date / Time: On display from 12th November | Quiz open until 19th November @12pm
Rules for the Machine: Navigating AI Law and Governance Today โ Ethics, accountability and the evolving regulatory landscape
Monday, 9 November
Monday, 9 November
12:30pm โ 1:30pm
Classroom 1 – Register here for in-person attendance
Join Online here [Open to external guests]
Speaker(s) / Host: Inma Ramos
As AI systems take on decisions that once belonged to people, a pressing question follows: who is accountable when they get it wrong? This session maps the current regulatory environment for AI, from the EU AI Actโs risk-based approach to the differing strategies emerging in the UK, US and beyond. We will unpack the ethical principles that underpin these frameworks, such as transparency, fairness, human oversight and accountability, and look at how they are being translated into legal obligations and governance practice. You will leave with a clear understanding of where AI regulation stands today, what it means for organisations, and the open questions regulators are still wrestling with.
Carbon Literacy Training: Understand It, Own It, Act On It
Delivered as two sessions of 4 hours each:
First Part: Monday 9th November (1:30 โ 5:30pm) Group Study Room
Second Part: Tuesday 10th November (9:30 โ 1:30pm) Group Study Room
(in person event – open to University staff, faculty and students only)
Climate change is often discussed in big numbers and distant targets, but what does it actually mean for the way we work, teach and study? This 8-hour Carbon Literacy Training gives you a practical grounding in the science of climate change, where emissions come from, and how they connect to everyday decisions in our roles and lives. Through discussion and interactive activities, you will explore what action looks like at an individual, team and institutional level, and commit to concrete steps you can take. Certification by The Carbon Literacy Trust is included at no extra cost.
How to join: Places are limited. Please register your place by emailing Faculty Support
[email protected]
Unplug to Recharge: 30 Minutes of Tech-Free Calm
Monday, 9 November 5:30 to 6:00pm | Room 5
Wednesday 11th November 12:45 to 1:15pm | Library Study Room
Your devices run on power, and so do you. Give both a rest.
Switch off the laptop, park the phone and join us for a half-hour meditation with zero screens, zero pings and zero scrolling. Just breathing, stillness and a mind that finally gets to catch up with itself.
Itโs the lowest-carbon activity of the week: no batteries, no Wi-Fi, no charger required.
- Bring: Just yourself
No experience needed. Come curious, leave lighter.
Log off. Breathe in. Power down to power up.
Mission 2030: The Responsible Algorithm โ An SDG and responsible AI escape room
Date / Time: Wednesday 11th November, from 11:45pm to 2pm
Location / Format: Classroom 8 – In Person with prior lunch (Between 11:45 and 12:30)
Facilitator(s): Inma Ramos
Audience: Visiting students from ISG, Paris on UK tour. All welcome to come and say hello during lunch, introduce yourselves!
It is 2027, and world leaders are preparing for the final SDG Summit before the 2030 deadline. But ORACLE, the AI system guarding the SDG progress files, has locked them away, because its designers never taught it what the Goals are for.
Working in teams of five, you will race against the clock to crack a series of puzzles on the SDG targets, the latest global data on digital technology, and the principles of responsible AI. Each code you break opens the next envelope, until only the Data Vault stands between you and success. Along the way you will see why AI can be both a friend and a foe to sustainable development, and why responsible choices matter for every business that uses it.
The session ends with a debrief that connects the game to the real decisions facing companies and future business leaders
๐ณ Sustainability Tour of Chiswick Business Park ๐ณ
1
Our ISG visitors are back for their next adventure! After the escape room, it is time to step outside and explore Chiswick Business Park with the team at Enjoy Work.
On this guided tour, they will discover the sustainability features that make the park a greener place to study, from green spaces, energy-saving buildings to waste and recycling.
Want to join them? Come along to chat, share your Richmond experience, and give them a taste of real student life in London. Your story could be the best part of their trip.
- When: Wednesday 11th November, 2:00pm
- Meeting point: University Reception
- Who: Everyone welcome
Explore. Connect. Share your story.
Students’ use of AI tools in academic writing
Co-researchers: Anita Karki and Aayush Kharel (MSc International Business Management)
Time & place: Wednesday 11 November @12:30 -13:30 Classroom 10.
Online https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/380233685015021?p=NDbPiQzk4C3kR0qrZJ
Participation Open internally to all (externally?)
Brief:
This is the first faculty-student partnership research in Richmond University. This university-wide project examens students’ use of AI tools for submitting graded tasks and assignments. In the anonymous survey, both undergraduate and postgraduate students shared their academic practice and preferences. The aim of this study to inform stakeholders, whether policy makers, factuality members or the student body, to help shape future decisions in this regard. The presentation will report the findings of our large data including norms and patterns. There will be a Q&A session at the end of the presentation.
Please also find attached a copy of our poster to invite students participation in the survey.
The Digital Collage: Whatโs the real environmental footprint of AI and our digital lives?
A hands-on workshop to understand the impact and how to reduce it
Wednesday, 11 November
9AM – 12PM
Classroom 8 (in person only)
Facilitator(s): Inma Ramos
Who can attend : Free and open to students, faculty and members of the community (individuals attending in a personal capacity, registered with a personal email).
Places are limited, so please sign up in advance! – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-digital-collage-tickets-2003959834811?aff=oddtdtcreator
Every search, stream and AI prompt has an environmental cost. Digital technology now produces around 3โ4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the worldโs trucks, and making a single 2kg computer takes about 700kg of raw materials. Join a hands-on, collaborative workshop to find out where these impacts come from and what we can do about them.
The Digital Collage is an internationally recognised workshop created in 2020 by the French non-profit La Fresque du Numรฉrique. It has been taken by more than 175,000 people worldwide and runs in 11 languages.. This session is delivered by a trained Digital Collage facilitator. Find out more at digitalcollage.org.
Friend or Foe? AI, Digital Technology and the Sustainable Development
Thursday, 12 November
2PM – 3PM
Classroom 5 and online via Teams [open to external guests]
Register Here for in-person attendance
Speaker(s): Inma Ramos, Director of the Institute for Corporate Sustainability
AI and digital technologies are often hailed as accelerators of sustainable development, but are they helping us reach the SDGs or holding us back? This talk weighs both sides, exploring the specific targets and indicators where technology drives progress, from internet access and digital skills to innovation, and where it creates new obstacles, from energy demand to e-waste and widening digital divides.
Become a Sustainability Champion
Discover the whole timetable and make the most of all activities: Student Affairs โ Information and support from Richmond Student Affairs
Join us, take part and help make Richmond University a model of sustainable living and learning.
