# Toward Sustainable HPC: Carbon Footprint Estimation and Environmental Implications of HPC Systems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.13177 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13177/

## Key facts

- Cited by 12 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 22 Jun 2023.

## Built on by (most cited first, 12 of 12)

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- [Quality Prediction of AI Generated Images and Videos: Emerging Trends and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.08534/) (2024)
- [Energy-Conscious LLM Decoding: Impact of Text Generation Strategies on GPU Energy Consumption](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.11723/) (2025)
- [Advancing AI Challenges for the United States Department of the Air Force](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.00267/) (2025)
- [BIRDS: Characterizing and Understanding Biodiversity Impact of Large Language Model Serving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.27480/) (2026)
- [A Survey on Design Methodologies for Accelerating Deep Learning on Heterogeneous Architectures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.17815/) (2023)
- [AOLO: Analysis and Optimization For Low-Carbon Oriented Wireless Large Language Model Services](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.04418/) (2025)
- [Lifetime-Aware Design for Item-Level Intelligence at the Extreme Edge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.08193/) (2025)
- [DumpsterCluster: From Dumpster Diving to Serving LLaMA-70B on 60 GPUs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.14614/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The rapid growth in demand for HPC systems has led to a rise in carbon footprint, which requires urgent intervention. In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the carbon footprint of high-performance computing (HPC) systems, considering the carbon footprint during both the hardware manufacturing and system operational stages. Our work employs HPC hardware component carbon footprint modeling, regional carbon intensity analysis, and experimental characterization of the system life cycle to highlight the importance of quantifying the carbon footprint of HPC systems.