Going green with sustainable digital software, websites and (even) AI…
Our digital lives could soon claim 50 percent of global electricity. Here is how we move past the "cloud illusion" to the tools actually doing some good.
👋 All right, we have to admit: there have been topics for which we’ve managed to come up with snappier newsletter headlines 🤓
Admittedly, this is good proof that we write our newsletter without the help of generative AI. We at RESET believe strongly in trying to keep our digital lives as environmentally-low-impact as possible, while still running a publication. However, our research has turned up some digital solutions so creative we’d love to just print them out and drop them on your desk.
Did you know, for example, that there are websites that draw all their energy from a single solar cell? If the sun goes away for too long, the website simply goes offline for a while. Or that programmes could always perform complex calculations precisely when the electricity mix is particularly green?
No? Well, then join us on a journey through efficient programmes, energy-saving websites and the question of how the immense electricity consumption of generative AI can be tracked.
In this newsletter:
💿 How to get started with green coding, web-sensitive websites and more
🚜 CO2 tracker to visualise resource savings
💻 About distributed systems and the work of ECO:DIGIT
🌨️ Why the ‘cloud illusion’ hinders sustainable digital transformation
How to get started with green coding, web-sensitive websites and more
The problem: According to forecasts, our digital lives and work could account for around 50 percent of global electricity consumption over the next 10 to 20 years. But there are ways in which we can save resources when using smartphones, laptops and AI chatbots.
The solution: Under the umbrella term ‘Green Coding’, we have summarised numerous ways in which we can save resources through digital services. This can be achieved, for example, simply by reducing the size of images on websites and re-uploading them. However, it becomes particularly interesting when we optimise websites and programmes using energy-efficient libraries or when their content is tailored to the current electricity mix.
CO2 tracker to highlight resource savings
“You can’t manage what you can’t measure!” – we hear this phrase time and time again. And it certainly applies to green coding. In this article, we’ve compiled a list of various tools and online services that allow you to track the CO₂ emissions saved, the water saved, or the reduction in electricity consumption.
Why do digital services require so many resources in the first place?
Our interview with Teresa Zeck from ECO:DIGIT is a good read for understanding the crux of the issue. If we view software merely as programmes running on a smartphone or computer, we overlook the real problem: modern programmes – apps such as ChatGPT or even Apple’s Notes app – are constantly communicating with data centres to offload computational tasks or store information.
What exactly makes Green Coding different, and does generative AI make it easier?
What exactly do programmers do differently when they ‘green’ code? And how can services like Claude Code or other AI-powered tools help us write the most efficient code possible? We put these questions to Max Westing, who works on the ‘Green Coding’ project.
How do you switch to a green cloud provider?
“It’s cloud illusions, I recall – I really don’t know clouds at all” – for almost 60 years now, the musician Joni Mitchell has been wondering what exactly “clouds” actually are. We want to finally answer that question for her, so we spoke to Jens Gröger. In the interview, we explore the hidden resource consumption of our cloud services and find out how switching to a green cloud works.
Get active! Demos, campaigns, petitions…
✊ In “The Turing Lectures”, Sasha Luccioni discusses what it really takes to make AI sustainable. Although the event is taking place in London, you can watch it online for free. When? On 27 May from 6 pm to 9 pm.
✊ Join in with “Digital Independence Day”: DI.DAY takes place every Sunday of the month. The motto: Let’s reclaim our free digital lives, stop further undermining democracy, and switch to democracy-friendly digital alternatives.
✊ Fight data centre expansion with Toolkit: This policy toolkit from North Star Data Center Policy shows how local authorities can protect themselves from data centres. Although the toolkit refers to the US, the concept and approach can be applied to German and European cases.
Sustainability & digitalisation—Our reading tips
🌍 How do AI systems impact our planet across the entire supply chain? The Observatory of Planetary Justice gathers and analyses real-world cases to document these effects. By using a standardised format, they trace patterns and identify key actors to keep the focus firmly on environmental and social justice.
📖 This open-access book offers a deep dive into the material reality of automation. It explores the environmental impacts and economic concentration of AI, moving beyond buzzwords to look at the social and material processes shaping our future. A must-read for a critical perspective on digital media and sustainability.
📉 We often talk about hardware, but what about the software itself? This article explores “carbon debt” within our code, tracking the environmental cost of the instructions we write. It’s a fascinating look at how optimising software can become a tool for climate action.
⚡️ “AI data centres consume so much energy that we need to regulate them in a completely different way” – That’s the conclusion of a new study by interface, which suggests, among other things, that we should treat them as critical energy infrastructure.
Support solutions instead of doom and gloom: Donate to RESET
Like what you read? Want more solutions for a sustainable world? Then support us with a donation to RESET! As a non-profit foundation, we are dependent on donations. Even a small donation can help our mission going.
Have an interesting event or project related to sustainability and digitalisation? Drop us a line at info@reset.org!