We are thrilled to announce a new partnership between Open Knowledge Foundation (OKFN) and GreenPT, as part of our ongoing AI Learning Labs efforts. Through this collaboration, we aim to opt for sustainable, privacy-first AI tools and put them directly into the hands of our global Network — particularly communities in the Global South who have long faced barriers to accessing AI without surrendering their data to Big Tech. By sharing API credits, LLM inference, Speech-to-Text, RAG, and other endpoints, along with platform access for OKFN staff and the wider network, this partnership embodies our commitment to learning by doing and building AI literacy that is practical, responsible, and multilingual.
GreenPT is a European, privacy-first AI platform built on the premise that AI should be smart without burdening the planet. Hosted in data centres powered by 100% renewable energy, it claims to achieve a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.25, compared to the Uptime Institute’s 2024 global average of 1.54 — 19% better — and a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of 0.25, an 86% improvement over standard data centres (source). By deliberately using smaller, more efficient models and providing users with real-time feedback on energy consumption, GreenPT cuts computational requirements by 40–50% and reduces COâ‚‚ emissions by up to half compared to conventional AI solutions. They aim to make every interaction transparent: users can see the carbon impact of each prompt, making efficiency a conscious choice.
This partnership aligns closely with Open Knowledge’s mission to create a fair, sustainable and open future for all. For over two decades, we have been establishing standards, creating technical tools and building digital public infrastructures in coordination with a distributed network of communities that have impacted the public, private and social sector everywhere. We are the proud creator and maintainer of two officially recognised digital public goods — CKAN and Open Data Editor (ODE) —, a commitment to building The Tech We Want: open infrastructure that is useful, simple, durable, and focused on solving people’s real problems.
This partnership is also part of a deliberate, wider operational shift we are undergoing at OKFN — a drive to align our internal digital infrastructure with the open values we champion externally. Over the last few months, we have replaced legacy proprietary tools with open, more ethical alternatives: BigBlueButton now powers our video conferencing and events, Plausible gives us privacy-first, cookie-free analytics, and Kimai offers transparent, open-source time-tracking for our distributed team. Welcoming GreenPT’s sustainable AI into this evolving ecosystem ensures that our commitment to openness is practised in our operations, from the backend infrastructure to the user-facing applications we build.
Over the coming months, we will collaborate on at least one joint case study based on a real project that combines GreenPT’s technology with OKFN’s expertise and global network. We want open knowledge and sustainable infrastructure to go hand in hand, serving communities without compromising on values, data sovereignty, or the health of our planet.
Stay tuned for updates as we embark on this journey.
