Autodesk – Ankit Dixit – 2025
Summary
Ankit Dixit, EDF Climate Corps Fellow at Autodesk, designed and deployed an automated AWS-based pipeline that ingests raw cloud and AI usage data, validates and transforms it into verified schema-compliant emissions datasets, and exports results directly to the company’s sustainability platform. By replacing manual uploads with a monitored, auditable workflow, the system strengthens Autodesk’s GHG accounting, enables consistent monthly emissions reporting, integrates forecasting tools, and creates a scalable foundation for future real-time climate impact reduction strategies.
Goals
The fellowship aimed to strengthen Autodesk’s Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting for cloud emissions by building a system that is automated, scalable, and secure. Specific goals included eliminating manual, error-prone uploads; creating schema-compliant datasets for reporting; improving both accuracy and speed of measurement; and producing actionable insights for sustainability decision-making. Complementary goals included designing forecasting tools to anticipate future emissions trajectories, enabling Autodesk to better plan mitigation strategies, and conducting comparative evaluations of different methodologies and calculation approaches to assess the trade-offs between spend-based and activity-based accounting models.
Solutions
Ankit developed and deployed a serverless automation framework using AWS Lambda, EventBridge Scheduler, S3, and Secrets Manager to create a secure end-to-end data pipeline for Autodesk’s cloud emissions accounting. The pipeline ingests raw files, detects workload type, applies standardized field mappings, validates data quality, and securely transfers schema-compliant datasets to the enterprise sustainability platform through an API. Footprints are generated automatically, archived to a centralized data bucket, and available for visualization in dashboards. The architecture includes monitoring, audit-ready data dictionaries, and modular design for scalability to new sources such as business travel or additional cloud providers. This framework not only enhances speed and accuracy but also establishes a repeatable, governed process. Complementary analyses included building forecasting models to anticipate emissions growth patterns and conducting methodology comparisons across spend and activity-based approaches to improve Autodesk’s long-term carbon strategy.
Potential Impact
The solution replaced manual workflows with a secure, scheduled pipeline that ensures reliability, transparency, and auditability. By integrating raw activity data and verified emissions outputs monthly, Autodesk can quickly identify cloud trends, compare spend- versus activity-based results, and act more responsively. The forecasting project adds visibility into future emissions scenarios, supporting mitigation planning and investment prioritization. This work strengthens Autodesk’s ability to measure, manage, and reduce the climate impact of cloud and AI operations. Beyond Autodesk, the modular framework provides a replicable model for other Scope 3 sources such as travel and supply chain, advancing broader sustainability strategies across the tech sector.
