ADEME

Mistral AI Publishes First Comprehensive Lifecycle Analysis of LLM Environmental Footprint

Mistral AI has released what it claims is the first comprehensive lifecycle analysis (LCA) of an AI model, conducted in collaboration with Carbone 4 and French agency ADEME, covering greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and resource depletion. Key findings include Mistral Large 2 generating 20.4 ktCO₂e, 281,000 m³ of water, and 660 kg Sb eq over 18 months of training and usage, with a single 400-token Le Chat inference costing 1.14 gCO₂e and 45 mL of water. The study proposes three standardized reporting indicators for the industry and advocates for mandatory disclosure of training and inference environmental impacts. Mistral argues model size correlates roughly linearly with environmental footprint, emphasizing the importance of right-sizing model selection.