AWS Public Sector Blog

New AWS ebook explores cloud technology’s impact on sustainability goals in higher education

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Universities and colleges worldwide are embracing sustainability as a cornerstone of their institutional identity and mission. This commitment reflects a growing recognition of higher education’s vital role in addressing global and societal impacting challenges. As defined by the United Nations, sustainability encompasses interconnected goals aimed at creating “a better and more sustainable future for all,” including climate action, responsible consumption, quality education, and social equality. Through research, teaching, and community engagement, educators are uniquely positioned to shape the next generation of leaders and innovators who will be looking to tackle these sustainability challenges.

Today’s higher education institutions face numerous challenges, from creating a financially sustainable future and managing operational efficiencies, to providing students with access to future-proof skilling programs and ever-evolving cutting-edge research infrastructure. Amid these challenges, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is helping higher education institutions not only enhance their campus operations and research capabilities, but to further to enrich their curriculum with digital skills content. To explore how AWS is enabling sustainability transformation across higher education, we’re excited to announce our new ebook: Driving sustainability transformation in universities and higher education.

This guide provides insights and case studies on using cloud technology to accelerate sustainability initiatives in the higher education sector. It showcases how AWS works closely with institutions to help them reach their sustainability goals across:

  • Campus operations – Building smart, sustainable campuses
  • Research – Addressing challenges in food scarcity, energy transition, and other global issues
  • Skills development – Equipping learners with cloud, emerging technologies and job-ready skills

AWS works closely with education leaders, such as Arizona State University (ASU), to achieve their path to being leading knowledge enterprises. ASU has emerged as number one in the US for Innovation for the last 10 years and carries leading sustainability rankings, including number one in the US and number nine globally in the Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings for work supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

“At Arizona State University, sustainability is not just a goal—it is a cornerstone of our charter. It drives our commitment to the integration of environmental, social, and economic responsibility across all aspects of campus life. From innovative research to sustainable campus operations and community partnerships, collaboration is at the heart of our efforts,” said Marc Campbell, assistant vice president, sustainability, at ASU. “By working together—across disciplines, sectors, and borders—we can create solutions that not only address the challenges of today but also lay the groundwork for a more resilient and sustainable future for generations to come.”

AWS takes a data-driven approach to sustainability that includes enhancing energy efficiency, transitioning to carbon-free energy, reducing embodied carbon, using water responsibly, embracing circular economy principles , and enabling sustainability for customers. AWS is up to 4.1 times more energy-efficient than on-premises solutions and can reduce the associated carbon footprint by up to 99 percent when optimized. Furthermore, AWS is committed to being water positive by 2030, making more water available to the communities where we operate.

For a more comprehensive look at sustainability efforts by Amazon, including those in education, we encourage you to review the latest Amazon Sustainability Report.

We invite you to download our ebook and explore how AWS is helping higher education institutions create more sustainable campuses, accelerate critical research, and prepare students for the jobs of the future.

Wendy Corns

Wendy Corns

Wendy is a global leader for Skills to Jobs Tech Alliances at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where she drives strategic collaborations between education providers and industry to close digital skills gaps and prepare students for technology careers. She combines deep workforce development expertise with more than two decades of experience in technology adoption across public sector and enterprise organizations.

Alli Matz

Alli Matz

Alli is based in London and works with education customers from around the world as a global business development manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Alli has more than a decade of experience in strategy, partnerships, and business development enabling organizations in government, healthcare, and education to innovate.