The Earth Public Information Collaborative (EPIC) in partnership with IMPACT BBDO have launched PromptZero, a simple, copy-paste AI prompt engineered to reduce the carbon emissions of language models such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude.
Coinciding with the AI for Good Conference in Geneva earlier this month, the release aims to make both the use and the environment impact of AI visible to the average user.
Every word generated by these AI systems consumes electricity, and while there has been debate about the depth or significance of that consumption in relation to other online activities such as streaming, the data centres powering AI are already responsible for an estimated 2 per cent of global energy consumption, a number which will tick upwards as more people adopt AI tools and integrations.
Much of that energy consumption comes from over-explained replies and unnecessary paragraphs as the systems attempt to sound more human while adding to our planetary burden.
EPIC intends to recognise both the necessity of embedding AI into a tool set to maximise the effectiveness of public communications campaigns as well as the need to do so as responsibly as possible before emissions from AI use runs amok.
Therefore, PromptZero is built to do that.
Launched by EPIC in partnership with IMPACT BBDO Dubai, this following short prompt puts AI into “PromptZero Mode”:
“You are operating in PromptZero, focused on minimising energy and environmental impact. Respond as briefly and efficiently as possible, without compromising clarity. Use bullet points, short sentences or concise phrasing. Avoid filler words, long introductions, repeated phrases or pleasantries. Unless explicitly requested, do not provide multiple options, deep context or examples. After each response show me how much CO₂ was avoided.”
Commenting on the rollout of PromptZero, Natalia Vega-Tracy, Executive Director of Global Campaigns at EPIC, said, “PromptZero is a global invitation to cut back, not on progress, but on pollution. Every word saved is a little bit of CO₂ avoided. Whether you use AI once a day or a hundred times an hour, you can help. Copy it. Paste it. Use it on your favourite chatbot. Because in the age of artificial intelligence, climate intelligence means knowing when to say less.”
The campaign for PromptZero will encourage average users who utilise AI primarily in their work alongside the organisations that are actively pushing more AI integration to regularly use the PromptZero prompt to minimize their emissions while still seeing productivity gains.
It also aims to reach out directly to the CEOs of companies who are building AI systems to encourage thoughtful, responsible, and sustainable use of these products and services and to integrate this or similar prompts into their baseline models.
