Green software - How a Karlsruhe-based company is ensuring sustainability in the IT sector
The use of software costs energy. In times of climate crisis, more and more software developers are working on making it more resource-efficient and sustainable. One of them is Aydin Mir Mohammadi, Managing Director of bluehands and initiator of the Green Software Development Group. We spoke to him about his idea, motives and the group, whose events in Karlsruhe are supported by karlsruhe.digital.
Aydin Mir Mohammadi has always attached great importance to being ecologically aware in his everyday life. Some time ago, he began to think about sustainable solutions in his IT profession. He is not alone in this. Once a month, the Green Software Development Group he initiated – consisting of developers – meets to discuss new approaches and ideas for increasing the sustainability of software – from architecture to operation.
Mir Mohammadi is convinced that there is enormous potential in sustainable and ecological software. “Our industry is responsible for an estimated 4% of global CO2 emissions. That’s almost double what aviation produces!”
According to other estimates, emissions from the entire ICT sector are as high as 10% worldwide. Software is by no means climate-friendly, and the production of computers and data centers requires the extraction of raw materials, costs electricity and water and produces CO2 emissions.
Rethinking – very practical
The further digitalization progresses, the higher the costs that the climate will have to bear. That is why Mir Mohammadi is in favor of a sustainable rethink – and preferably as quickly as possible. After all, “growth is exponential. Data centers are sprouting up like mushrooms. And that’s where movement comes into play. The software we produce must be climate and resource-friendly.”
What exactly does this mean in practice? Mir Mohammadi and other developers are working on approaches to software that only performs certain tasks when the power grid contains a lot of renewable electricity. If it doesn’t, the computing power is made up for later. “It’s similar to the energy transition. You reorient yourself. The energy consumed is based on how much renewable energy is available. So it’s basically a paradigm shift.”
Thinking ahead in the group
According to Mir Mohammadi, the Green Software Development group is a “movement” of like-minded IT professionals who want to network for sustainable work. The participants meet in their free time, give each other input and keep up to date with new trends in their industry. A recurring topic is transparency: how high are the CO2 emissions of software and how should this be assessed? “It’s comparable to cars, where you know exactly which car has high fuel consumption,” says Mir Mohammadi.
Among like-minded people: People from a wide range of IT fields meet here to network for more sustainability.
Photo: Aydin Mir Mohammadi
One conflict that causes headaches is the conditions required for the climate-friendly production of software. Firstly, it is more complex and may take longer. On the other hand, cost- and consumption-efficient software is cheaper in the long term and, above all, more environmentally friendly. This is because the data centers have to provide less data traffic, computers and electricity. But, as Mir Mohammadi points out, this is a fundamental problem of ecology. “You can blow through your old heating system now and continue to accept high costs or invest in an efficient, more climate-friendly product immediately.”
Join in and be part of it!
The participants in the Green Software Development Group come from a wide range of IT areas such as design, application development and operations. Mir Mohammadi is convinced that a rethink in the software industry is overdue and is delighted that the regular events are so well received: “Last time, 50 people attended. That’s really good, especially for a city like Karlsruhe.” In the future, the meet-ups will continue to be an opportunity for exchange, networking, information and inspiration.
If you would like to become part of the Green Software Development Group, you can find more information about the meetings and their content here.
The next event will take place on May 16 on the topic of“Sustainable Kubernetes – Scale up, Scale down, Scale to Zero“.
Cover picture: private.