The UK is expanding AI infrastructure, accelerating data centre build-out to develop stronger domestic AI compute. However, data centre contestation on environmental grounds is increasing, highlighting that how we understand and respond to AI’s environmental impacts (or not) are fundamentally social issues. That is why social science perspectives are crucial to recognising and addressing environmental tensions in UK data centre strategy.
The ACCESS project on Environmentally Just AI: The Social and Environmental Impacts of Data Centres began in October 2025 and will finish in August 2026.
The project aims to:
Examine UK data centre development strategy through a social science lens, providing a holistic understanding of regional, national and international environmental impacts. It will make actionable policy recommendations to address these impacts in a way that is environmentally and socially just.
Project outputs will include:
1) A rapid evidence review of social science research on data centre environmental impacts, UK AI infrastructure policy and how Just Transition literature can provide frameworks to inform data centre development and governance.
2) A short policy focused report that defines the problem, exploring international and UK data centre case studies to provide a set of recommendations and recognition of the conditions needed to develop effective policy in this area.
3) Knowledge co-production meetings to interrogate project findings and shape outputs including the report, guidance and graphic.
4) A short guidance document for policymakers, firms and other organisations on how to think about and address the problem.
5) A visual design or graphic to help with communicating the findings.
6) An academic journal article, expanding on environmental justice and public engagement in recent UK hyperscale planning.
Core research team
This project is led by Prof. Sarah Hartley (ACCESS Leadership Team, University of Exeter) and Rory Murphy (ACCESS Fellow, University of Exeter), with a team comprising:
- Prof. Patrick Devine Wright (ACCESS Director, University of Exeter)
- Emily Robinson (University of Exeter)
- Dr Ernesto Schwartz Marin (University of Exeter)
- Prof. Stewart Barr (ACCESS Leadership Team, University of Exeter)
- Prof. Karen Anderson (University of Exeter)
- Dr Mayra Rodriguez (University of Exeter)
- Dr Jack Reed (Estyn, Welsh Government)
Knowledge Co-Production Committee
A broader knowledge co-production (KCP) committee will advise the project team monthly and comprise colleagues from:
- Government Office for Science (GO-Science)
- British Academy
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- Friends of the Earth
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
The Environmentally Just AI: The Social and Environmental Impacts of Data Centres project will run from October 2025 to August 2026.
For more information about the project, please contact: ACCESS_admin@exeter.ac.uk