How Can a Project Measure Its Environmental Footprint? An Example of Using GREENDEX in AI Insight

Sustainability in projects often remains at the level of good intentions: less printing, more online meetings, use of public transport, local food. All of this makes sense, but one question quickly appears:

How do we know whether we have actually reduced our environmental impact?

In the AI Insight project, ref.no. 2024-1-SI02-KA220-YOU-000248858, co-financed by EU (Erasmus+), we decided not to treat the green dimension only as a general commitment, but as part of quality project management. That is why we used GREENDEX https://greendex.world/, a tool developed within another Erasmus+ project, to monitor our environmental impact.

Why GREENDEX?

GREENDEX is the result of an Erasmus+ project coordinated by Zavod Ambitia from Slovenia https://www.ambitia.eu/. The project was funded by the Erasmus+ programme and selected under a call of the Slovenian National Agency MOVIT.

Its purpose is to help young people, youth workers and organisations reflect on ecological habits and develop more sustainable youth activities and organisations. For us, it was also important that GREENDEX is not a general environmental tool, but one developed in the context of youth work and Erasmus+ projects.

This is a good example of how the results of one project can continue to live in another. In AI Insight, we did not develop a new calculator. Instead, we used an existing tool that responds to a very practical need: how to assess the environmental impact of project activities.

What Did We Measure During the LTT Activity?

We used GREENDEX for our LTT activity. First, we prepared a planned calculation of the carbon footprint. After the activity, we checked the actual footprint.

Calculation	CO₂
Planned carbon footprint	1559 kg CO₂
Actual carbon footprint	1036 kg CO₂
Difference	523 kg CO₂ less
Reduction	approximately 33.5% fewer emissions

This means that the actual carbon footprint of the activity was 523 kg CO₂ lower than planned.

This kind of data is useful because it turns sustainability from a general feeling into something we can discuss concretely. We can see which parts of an activity have the biggest impact — usually transport, accommodation and food — and where we can make better decisions next time.

What Does This Kind of Calculation Tell Us?

In projects, we often focus on content: the programme, participants, results and evaluation. This is, of course, essential. But the way we implement a project also has an impact.

A carbon footprint calculation helps us ask questions such as:

• Was the physical meeting really necessary?
• Could part of the activity have been implemented online?
• Is the location accessible by public transport?
• Can we encourage participants to share transport?
• Do we need printed materials, or can we use digital ones?
• Can we choose more local and less resource-intensive food options?

These are not abstract ideological questions. They are concrete organisational decisions that we make in almost every project.

Sustainability as Part of Quality Project Management

For us, GREENDEX was not important only as a calculator. It was important as a tool for better decision-making.

A good project today does not only need strong content. It also needs:

• clear indicators;
• good documentation;
• evidence of implementation;
• monitoring of effects;
• the ability to improve during the project;
• responsible use of resources.

The green dimension is therefore not an additional paragraph at the end of an application form. It can become part of the project logic: we plan, measure, compare and improve.

What Can Other Organisations Learn From This?

If an organisation implements Erasmus+ or other international projects, it does not need to create a complex environmental system immediately. It is enough to start with a few simple steps:

1. Estimate the environmental impact before larger physical events.
2. Check the actual situation after the event.
3. Record which decisions reduced the impact.
4. Use the same data when planning future activities.
5. Communicate about it transparently and concretely.

The biggest mistake is allowing sustainability to remain only a promise. A better approach is to turn it into a practice that can be shown with evidence.

Our Conclusion

By using GREENDEX during the LTT activity, we showed that projects dealing with artificial intelligence, digital tools and youth work can also seriously address the green dimension.

According to the available calculations, during the LTT activity we produced 523 kg CO₂ less than planned, which means approximately 33.5% fewer emissions.

For us, this is an important reminder:

Sustainability is not only what we write in a project application. Sustainability is how we plan, implement, measure and improve our work.

And perhaps even more importantly: good Erasmus+ project results can continue to live when other organisations use them in new projects, new contexts and new practices.