GHG Emissions  -  May 26, 2021

Accenture, Microsoft Lead Collaboration on Software Sustainability Project

Accenture, GitHub, Microsoft and ThoughtWorks launched May 20 a joint project to grow the green software movement and contribute to the creation of environmental standards for the technology industry.

The Green Software Foundation will focus on three key areas: establishing green software industry standards for emissions reporting, increasing innovation in green software applications, and driving awareness of the importance of green software throughout the industry with ambassador programs, training and education.

The nonprofit initiative hopes to address the portion of the world’s electricity demand that comes from data centers. Through the newly developed Linux Foundation and the Joint Development Fund, the organizations will build a network of people and practices committed to growing green software engineering, contributing industry standards, and reducing the emissions from software.

The foundation aims to help the software industry achieve a target of 45% emissions reduction by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement.

“The scientific consensus is clear: the world confronts an urgent carbon problem,” Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement. “It will take all of us working together to create innovative solutions to drastically reduce emissions. Today, Microsoft is joining with organizations who are serious about an environmentally sustainable future to drive adoption of green software development to help our customers and partners around the world reduce their carbon footprint.”

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