Research
Research Excellence
Research is central to CR&A. Eric Zie’s role as a Visiting Professor in Digital and ICT Sustainability, combined with his extensive research in ClimateTech, provides unique insights into the evolving landscape of digital decarbonisation. As the founder of GoCodeGreen—a world-leading IT measurement and reporting solution that is ISO and GHG Protocol compliant—and author of the "Decarbonise Digital" guides for ICT and AI, Eric has been instrumental in shaping sustainable technology practices globally. His achievements, including the TechUK Planet Award and the Google Brain Award, reinforce his commitment to pioneering solutions that blend digital disruption with sustainability.
Eric's research work is now centred on ClimateAI and harnessing the power of artificial intelligence whilst balancing this with his expert sustainable technology and digital knowledge.
Services and Projects
Research Support
CR&A offers expert research services to support new projects in digital and AI sustainability. With a deep understanding of ClimateTech, green software engineering, and the latest trends in sustainable ICT, Eric can enhance your research proposals and funding submissions. By providing data-driven insights, tailored strategies, and guidance on sustainable digital practices, he helps align your projects with cutting-edge developments, strengthening their potential for success in securing funding and delivering impactful outcomes.
Funded Projects
The GENIUS project, part of the ITEA program under Eureka, focuses on using Generative AI to automate and enhance software development. CR&A is working with the UK project lead, King’s College London, alongside partners such as BT, to develop tools that support software engineers in tasks like coding, documentation, and quality analysis but doing this in the most sustainable way possible.
ITEA is a collaborative R&D program within Eureka, an international network supporting innovation-led projects. The UK's funding agency, UKRI, is involved.
Latest Research & Papers ...
Genius Project Vision Paper Published - December 2025
Sustainability integrated into the research topics in the Genius project
A key outcome of the project is the recently published vision paper “The Future of Generative AI in Software Engineering”. It shows the potential that generative AI can unleash across the entire software development cycle and the technical, organisational and ethical prerequisites that need to be established to achieve this. The paper provides a clear five-year vision for the future of software development, describes new role models for developers and outlines technological and methodological advances that enable the use of trustworthy AI in practice. “New generative AI technologies and communication with systems in natural language open up completely new possibilities for connecting software development processes across all phases and making them more efficient,” says Robin Gröpler, Research Associate at ifak and GENIUS Project leader. “We are in a phase of profound change in which generative artificial intelligence is not only expanding tools, but also redesigning entire development processes. The close cooperation of numerous international partners in GENIUS enables innovations in how humans and AI can jointly develop software in the future – for efficient, sustainable and competitive solutions.”
With its cross-industry approach, GENIUS strengthens Europe's technological sovereignty and innovative power in the field of trustworthy AI and paves the way for a new generation of intelligent, responsible software development.
Read more here
'From Paradox to Progress: A Net-Positive AI Energy Framework' - December 2025
Publication of World Economic Forum Report
AI is beginning to redefine what is possible in the energy sector. We are seeing the early stages of a shift from isolated optimisation experiments to intelligent, system-level performance improvements — from power system balancing to predictive maintenance and grid efficiency. But what is often missed is that sustainability is not separate from this progress. It is becoming the foundation of AI that is genuinely competitive, reliable, and affordable over the long term. When we measure energy, emissions and resource use properly, we create the conditions for AI systems that scale responsibly and deliver measurable value rather than uncontrolled cost.
This is why I was pleased to collaborate with the World Economic Forum and Dr. Ginelle Greene-Dewasmes on the Net Positive AI Energy Framework, produced with Accenture. The work brings clarity to a rapidly changing landscape: how to design and deploy AI with an explicit understanding of energy systems, operational realities, and environmental constraints. It recognises that intentional, energy-aware scaling is not a limitation — it is how we unlock the highest-value outcomes across the energy value chain. Report here.
Research Paper Accepted for AIWare Conference, Seoul - November 2025
Our first paper from the GENIUS project. Fantastic to be leading the sustainability workstream (WP2.5) and contributing to our Vision paper.
Abstract: Generative AI (GenAI) has recently emerged as a groundbreaking force in Software Engineering, capable of generating code, suggesting fixes, and supporting quality assurance. While its use in coding tasks shows considerable promise, applying GenAI across the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) has not yet been fully explored. Critical uncertainties in areas such as reliability, accountability, security, and data privacy demand deeper investigation and coordinated action. The GENIUS project, comprising over 30 European industrial and academic partners, aims to address these challenges by advancing AI integration across all SDLC phases. It focuses on GenAI’s potential, the development of innovative tools, and emerging research challenges, actively shaping the future of software engineering. Paper here.
ResponsibleSE 2025 - Norway June 2025
Our paper 'Comparative Analysis of Carbon Footprint in Manual vs. LLM-Assisted Code Development' authored in collaboration with Kings College London has been accepted to be presented at the 1st International Workshop on Responsible Software Engineering.
'Comparative Analysis of Carbon Footprint in Manual vs. LLM-Assisted Code Development, Published Apr
Abstract
Large Language Models (LLM) have significantly transformed various domains, including software development. These models assist programmers in generating code, potentially increasing productivity and efficiency. However, the environmental impact of utilising these AI models is substantial, given their high energy consumption during both training and inference stages. This research aims to compare the energy consumption of manual software development versus an LLM-assisted approach, using Codeforces as a simulation platform for software development. The goal is to quantify the environmental impact and propose strategies for minimising the carbon footprint of using LLM in software development. Our results show that the LLM-assisted code generation leads on average to 32.72 higher carbon footprint than the manual one. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between task complexity and the difference in the carbon footprint of the two approaches. Full paper here.
Verdantum Research Synopsis - London, October 2024
Verdantum is an independent research programme led and developed by Charsfield Research & Advisory. It is focused on embedding environmental sustainability into the design and planning of digital systems. The programme defines the technical foundations required to systematically reduce the environmental impact of digital products and services, using structured methods grounded in lifecycle, systems and architectural thinking.
Fully leveraging the practical research and industry experience that supports our advisory services, Verdantum establishes three core components: a digital emissions classification framework; a best practice catalogue for sustainable architecture and engineering; and a formalised methodology for quantifying emissions across software lifecycles. These elements are designed for integration into AI-based decisioning and at various stages of digital solution development, enabling sustainability to be applied as a measurable and enforceable design constraint.
Verdantum also leverages relevant research insights from Charsfield Research & Advisory’s involvement in the multi-organisation Genius initiative and our strong academic links with the Department of Informatics at Kings College London and the School of Computing Sciences at UEA. This ensures alignment with emerging practice in AI, systems engineering, and sustainability evaluation.