Digital Public Infrastructure must be lawful and sustainable. The Seven Layer Model delivers environmental responsibility by starting in law, assigning a competent custodian, governing data as evidence, executing policy as verifiable rules, issuing binding outcomes, informing people through accessible interfaces, and keeping decisions open to supervision and remedy. The result is measurable impact rather than marketing claims.
Commitment
We will meet environmental objectives through legal authority, institutional mandate, and governed execution. Targets and evidence are defined in public law and are supervised by the named institution. Data used for claims is kept as canonical records with provenance and correction procedures. Decisions that rely on this data remain enforceable and reviewable.
Legal authority and mandate
Environmental duties for Digital Public Infrastructure are established in law and delegated to a competent public institution. This makes sustainability a public obligation rather than a vendor promise and gives oversight bodies jurisdiction to test and correct outcomes.
Canonical records
Energy, water, asset life and related data are governed as canonical records. Provenance and retention rules keep the evidence stable over time. Disclosures can be verified independently and corrected when new facts emerge.
Policy to code
Efficiency rules, data minimisation, and capacity management are expressed as machine readable policies. They are versioned, tested, and approved before release. Configuration is not left to convenience. Execution always refers back to the approved rule.
Certified execution
Issuances that depend on environmental controls carry recognised signatures and timestamps. A public verification endpoint confirms the method, the boundary, and the period in scope. No output presents a claim that cannot be retraced to the record.
Rights and access
Interfaces present clear statements about efficiency, retention, and channel choices. Assisted and low bandwidth routes are available so access does not require high resource use. Receipts allow people to see what happened and when.
Oversight and remedy
Inspection and appeal remain operational. If a disclosure is incomplete or a duty is unmet, the institution can order correction without dismantling the service. This keeps sustainability claims aligned with public law across the life of the system.
Assurance Pathway
Authority and
mandate
Enabling provision or valid delegation and the custodian with supervision duties
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Execution and issuance
Binding outputs with recognised signatures, timestamps, and a verification endpoint
Oversight and remedy
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Rules and orchestration
Approved rules for data minimisation and efficiency, certified runtime and audit trail
Interface and
access
Statements of efficiency and retention, inclusive channels with receipts and timelines
Reporting and governance
A short public statement is issued each year with targets, method notes, and results for the indicators above. A quarterly supervisory review records corrective actions and timelines. Independent assurance is commissioned where appropriate, and all disclosures can be verified against canonical records.
Procurement and contracts
Contracts require providers to disclose renewable share, facility efficiency, and water use where material, and to declare embodied emissions for significant assets. Vendors design for data minimisation and efficient use of resources. Take back and recycling arrangements are required for hardware refresh and end of life.
Scope and boundary
The statement covers hosting, execution, and networks that support systems built under the Seven Layer Model. Where a data centre or service location changes, the institution maintains control and provides location, energy, and water attributes for the new boundary.