Exécuter un flux automatisé

Name: Run an automated workflow
Creator: Projet Celsius
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Projet Celsius

Database entryUsesLevel 3 of 6 useUse, level 3 of 6Used to calculate 8 entries, levels 3 to 5Calculated with 4 entries, levels 1 and 2Database structure

Run an automated workflow

One call to a model in an automated workflow. Projet Celsius estimate.

"Read 1,000 tokens" accounts for 65% of emissions in this scenario.
100% of the calculation rests on database assumptions; it does not measure actual use.
Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device.

Compare

Calculated with

Used to calculate

Breakdown of emissions by item

0.11 gCO2e in total: 0.24 Wh of electricity × 458 gCO2e/kWh (servers worldwide).

Inputs of the calculation 3

PUE of the data centre, Read 1,000 tokens, Write, with reasoning

Annual emissions from running an automated workflow, by frequency

Your frequencyPeriod

Read the values at4,100 times a year

Reading: at 4,100 uses per year, "Automated workflow" has the same footprint as one phone charge every week. Carbon footprint (CO2e) over one year, by number of uses. Each use is a straight line; "Automated workflow" is highlighted, with the chosen parameters, and compared with 6 reference uses at their default settings; the solid line is one phone charge per week over a year, and the point where the task reaches it. Servers worldwide. Calculation from the AI Impact Database by Projet Celsius.

How the calculation is built

It reads its instructions and an incoming email, then extracts the information. Each run is one query, with nobody at the screen.

Comparison with the other uses

The topic "Code and agents"

Code suggestion0.031 gCO2e, 0.3 times the value of "Automated workflow"
Automated workflow0.11 gCO2e
Generate a function0.54 gCO2e, 4.9 times the value of "Automated workflow"
Have code reviewed0.59 gCO2e, 5.3 times the value of "Automated workflow"

↓ The heaviest use in the topic, "Coding agent hour": 310 gCO2e, 2,800 times more

Emissions of one use, linear scale, 4 of the 6 uses in the topic, those of the same order of magnitude (at most 25 times between the smallest and the largest value). For calculated values, servers worldwide.

Characteristics

Unit	1 run
Default location	world, 458 gCO2e/kWh (Ember 2025, life cycle); 11 other locations to choose from
Counted	the model reading and writing tokens, and data centre cooling
Not counted	server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device
Status	estimated

All the characteristics identifier, version, rule for the value, sources, licence

Identifier	IA-0221, projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0221/
Version	0.1 of 2 November 2026
Category	Uses, a request to AI
Choice of the selected value	database calculation from the entries this one is made of, at the quantities of the unit
Sources	calculation of the database
Licence	CC BY 4.0

Emissions by server location

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Poland0.14 gCO2e
World0.11 gCO2e
United States0.092 gCO2e
European Union0.05 gCO2e
France0.0099 gCO2e

× 14 between Poland and France, for the same electricity

Ember 2025, over the life cycle. The same use consumes 0.24 Wh in each location.

Run an automated workflow · result per run · estimated · one server location per row.Included: the model reading and writing tokens, and data centre cooling. Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's deviceFind this case: projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/tasks/run-an-automated-workflow/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0221, entry in version 0.1 · engine 0.3.1 · CC BY 4.0.

Usage parameters

Advanced settings model class, reasoning, calibration

Model classReasoningCalibration

Result for the chosen case

Location of the servers

For a carbon footprint

The row for a carbon footprint

Item	purchases of services (GHG Protocol scope 3, category 1); regulatory BEGES, category 4
Quantity	1 run
Factor	0.11 gCO2e per run, IA-0221 version 0.1, according to the grid at the location (location-based), servers worldwide
Total	0.11 gCO2e · not counted: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's device

Breakdown of emissions by item

Emissions associated with electricity (CO2e)

Read 1,000 tokens0.071 gCO2e · 65 %
Write, with reasoning0.029 gCO2e · 26 %
PUE of the data centre0.01 gCO2e · 9.1 %

Run an automated workflow · result per run · estimated · servers worldwide.Included: the model reading and writing tokens, and data centre cooling. Out of scope: server manufacturing, model training, the network and the user's deviceFind this case: projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/tasks/run-an-automated-workflow/Projet Celsius calculation, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026 · IA-0221, entry in version 0.1 · engine 0.3.1 · CC BY 4.0.

Breakdown by item

Quantity, unit value, contribution and nature of the data for each item

Item	Quantity	Unit value	Contribution	Share	Nature of the data
Read 1,000 tokens	× 0.485 after calibration, 0.74 before	0.32 Wh	0.16 Wh	65 %	assumption
Write, with reasoning (without reasoning)	× 0.0656 after calibration, 0.1 before	0.96 Wh	0.063 Wh	26 %	assumption
PUE of the data centre	× 1.10 on the rest		0.022 Wh	9 %	convention

Entries that use it (8)

Handle a customer request, Autonomous agent, 1 month, Automated monitoring, 1 year, Process automation, Office worker, 1 year, Accountant, 1 year, Human resources, 1 year, Customer service officer, 1 year

Sources of the calculation

3 publications, for this entry and those used to calculate it, with the chosen parameters.

The result is calculated by Projet Celsius. The sources below support its uses, its factors and its conversion; they do not all measure this total.

Uses and assumptions

These publications shed light on AI tasks and uses. They do not measure the carbon footprint of the case calculated.

EnronSent
EnronSent Corpus, notice ↗ (new tab)
Read 1,000 tokens
Role and limits : EnronSent
Author. Will Styler
What the publication covers. 96,106 messages sent by Enron employees, 13,810,266 words
What it does not cover. the messages received
Reading by the database. Professional emails from 2000 and 2001: an order of magnitude, not a norm
- Automated workflow → : Read 1,000 tokens →
  Length convention: an email
  Scope of the figure used. A typical email: the sent messages of the Enron corpus average about 144 words; figure read in an excerpt, notice not verified
  Limit. This publication supports the quantity of text or content processed, not its carbon footprint.

Energy and factors

The references of the selected values and of the entries used in this calculation.

Watershed · Aug. 2026
Estimating GHG Emissions from AI Use: Framework for Corporate-Level Measurement ↗ (new tab)
Read 1,000 tokens · Write 1,000 tokens · Data centre PUE
Role and limits : Watershed
Author. Bistline, Ulissi, Davis, Glidden, Joyce, Li, Mohsenin and Suh (Watershed)
What the publication covers. factors per 1,000 tokens read and written at the server before PUE (host and standby machines included), PUE separate (1.10 for a large operator, 1.56 for an unknown operator)
What it does not cover. clean measurements, the model and the hardware
Reading by the database. Default factors proposed for review (public data as of June 2026); for a large operator, taken from Google's measurement published in 2025 (Elsworth et al.), which already contains the data centre overhead; constant per token, they underestimate long contexts and agents according to the authors
- Read 1,000 tokens →
  Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
  Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens read, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
  Limit. A default value that Watershed derives from Google's measurement (0.24 Wh for the median text query of the Gemini app), with about 500 tokens per query and a written token costing 3 times a read token; Watershed does not give the split between read and written tokens. The 0.24 Wh already include the overhead of Google's data centre (0.02 Wh, 8%): with 375 tokens read and 125 written, the simplest reading, the factor contains it, and the PUE of 1.10 applied afterwards counts it a second time (about 9%). Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
- Write 1,000 tokens →
  Reference for the variant "Medium model, Watershed default factor"
  Scope of the figure used. Default factor for 1,000 tokens written, medium model, large operator, at the server before PUE (Watershed table 2, public data as of June 2026)
  Limit. 3 times the reading factor, based on the ratio between writing and reading selected by Watershed (Patel et al., Splitwise, 2024). Same derivation and same caveat as for reading: Google's 0.24 Wh already include about 8% of data centre. Values proposed for review, final at the next version of the framework
- Automated workflow → : Data centre PUE →
  The data centre, convention C3
  Scope of the figure used. building cooling and losses
  Limit. This figure covers part of the calculation; it does not measure the whole entry.
- Data centre PUE →
  Reference of the selected value
  Scope of the figure used. Default factor for a large operator, from the server to the data centre; 1.56 for an unknown operator
  Limit. A default value, not a measurement

Conversion into carbon

The source of the electricity factor of the selected location.

Worldwide: 458 gCO2e/kWh, life cycle.

Ember · 2026
Global Electricity Review 2026, and Our World in Data based on Ember ↗ (new tab)
Grid electricity
Role and limits : Ember
Author. Ember, Our World in Data
What the publication covers. electricity generation over the life cycle, by country
What it does not cover. guarantees of origin
Reading by the database. The same source for all countries
- Grid electricity →
  Conversion of electricity into carbon: worldwide
  Scope of the figure used. the production of electricity over the life cycle, including power plant construction and fuels
  Limit. An average for the chosen country, not the electricity contract or the data centre of a specific service.

Nature of the data

Published readings, conventions, assumptions

What this figure rests on

Projet Celsius assumptions 100 %

A share counts as an assumption as soon as a quantity set by Projet Celsius (a frequency, a share done with AI, a headcount) enters its calculation, even if the rest rests on published measurements.

Calculation assumptions

Quantities, nature and source of each assumption

Read 1,000 tokens : × 0.485
The workflow instructions and the email received
assumption · Read 1,000 tokens
Write, with reasoning : × 0.0656
A structured output of about 100 tokens: the category and the extracted fields
assumption · Write, with reasoning

Methodology conventions

With their alternatives

The full methodology

The data centre	Server electricity is multiplied by 1.10 for the data centre · alternatives: × 1.72 from chips to the full service at Google, never to be combined
The default location	Without other information, the servers are in the world, at the world average electricity · alternatives: the United States, where most of the large assistants run
Electricity, location-based, on a life cycle basis	The kilowatt-hour is that of the servers' country, on a life cycle basis, from a single source for all countries · alternatives: market-based, with purchase contracts, shown alongside when published
Two significant figures	A calculated value is rounded to two significant figures, a published value is reproduced with the precision of its source; the calculation keeps full precision
The formula	the sum of what makes up the entry, then CO2e: electricity (Wh) multiplied by the carbon intensity of the server location (gCO2e/kWh), divided by 1,000
Calculate a case without an entry	The formula, the default values and a step-by-step example

History

Entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026, in the database in version 0.4

The changelog

2 November 2026Version 0.1 of the entry, as of the date of its current value.
31 October 2026Creation of the database, in its first version (0.1).

Citation

Projet Celsius, AI Impact Database, version 0.4 of 13 November 2026, "Run an automated workflow", IA-0221 (entry in version 0.1 of 2 November 2026), projetcelsius.com/en/ai/database/IA-0221/ · CC BY 4.0.

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