Cal Innes is a Digital Sustainability Specialist at Jisc, where he works at the intersection of technology, environmental responsibility and AI ethics. He advises universities and colleges across the UK on reducing the environmental impact of their digital activities, helping institutions cut through the noise on AI's environmental footprint and make evidence-based, responsible technology decisions.
Cal chairs the FE and Skills Digital Sustainability Community and edits the monthly Jisc Digital Sustainability Newsletter. He has contributed to parliamentary think tank work on AI and the environment, represents Jisc in the Government Digital Sustainability Alliance, and co-authored the Jisc/EAUC practical guide AI and Environmental Sustainability in Post-16 Education. His writing has appeared in TechRadar, Times Higher Education and FE News, and he has contributed a chapter to the widely acclaimed book The Unbearable Light(ness) of AI.
Before joining Jisc, Cal built his expertise in the public sector, working across climate change policy, environmental data and carbon accounting. His academic background includes a BA in Applied Social Science and an MSc in Social Research, with a focus on the human and social dimensions of environmental challenges.
As a speaker, Cal brings rigour and accessibility to topics that are too often dominated by either uncritical enthusiasm or vague alarm. He speaks on the environmental costs of AI and digital infrastructure, how organisations can embed digital sustainability in practice, and how to balance technological innovation with genuine environmental responsibility. Audiences leave with a clearer picture of the evidence and practical steps they can act on.
Cal Innes official speaking topics are listed below:
- AI's Hidden Environmental Cost: Separating Evidence from Hype
- Data Centres, Energy and the Climate: What Organisations Need to Know
- Building a Digital Sustainability Strategy: From Awareness to Action
- The Environmental Impact of AI: What Leaders Need to Know
- Digital Sustainability and Financial Savings: Co-benefits of Environmental and Financial Sustainability
- Digital Sustainability: Cutting Carbon in an Increasingly Digital World
- AI Ethics & Sustainability: Balancing Innovation with Responsibility
- Decluttering the Cloud: Managing Digital Waste for Cost and Carbon Savings
- Sustainable Digital Transformation for Organisations, Teams and Individuals
Feedback from In-person & Virtual Events:
"I left feeling genuinely inspired and eager to share what I learnt with colleagues." - Vaiva, Senior Learning Technologist, Imperial College London
"This talk opened my eyes to the huge scale of the problem. Cal challenged us to take both an individual and organisational approach to data storage sustainability." - Jenny, Learning Technologist, University of Oxford
"A brilliant session. I particularly enjoyed learning about the concept of cold storage which I had never come across before." - Katharine, Associate Professor of Academic Innovation, University of Chester
- 2026 - Co-author, AI and Environmental Sustainability in Post-16 Education (Jisc/EAUC)
- 2026 - Contributor, The Unbearable Light(ness) of AI (Open Book Publishers)
- 2026 - Representative, Government Digital Sustainability Alliance
- 2025 - Topic Editor, Global Impact of AI, POEM Project (Carnegie Mellon University)
- 2023 - Present: Digital Sustainability Specialist, Jisc
- 2023 - Parliamentary think tank contributor, AI and the environment
- 2023 - Principal Climate Change Officer, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
- 2022 - Climate Change Data Analyst, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
- 2021 - Low Carbon Researcher, Don't Do a Dodo
- ISEP Certificate in Sustainability and Environmental Management
- Carbon Literacy Certification
How to hire Cal Innes
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Cal Innes for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
