Tech companies boost push for eco-friendly software
With growing environmental awareness, technology companies are ramping up efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of software, addressing both device longevity and energy-efficient coding.
As environmental concerns mount, the tech industry is increasingly focusing on making software more carbon-efficient. This trend is partly motivated by software’s impact on both the environment and consumers’ wallets, with solutions like /e/OS, a free Android-based operating system, emerging as a sustainable choice for extending device lifespan. By supporting over 200 aging devices, /e/OS lets users keep their phones longer, reducing the need for frequent hardware replacements and lessening the carbon emissions associated with device production.
The Green Software Foundation, which includes major tech players like Microsoft and Google, has introduced the Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification, a tool to help developers measure and minimise their software’s carbon footprint. The SCI specification tracks emissions from software operation and the embodied carbon in the devices it runs on, encouraging developers to be more eco-conscious by using fewer physical resources and aligning with cleaner energy sources.
Research also highlights the need for efficient coding practices, as “code smells” patterns that suggest inefficient code can waste energy. While the push for sustainable software has grown, only a small fraction of large enterprises currently prioritise software sustainability. Yet, with the ICT sector’s emissions forecasted to rise, green software initiatives may soon become a central component of the industry’s environmental strategy.