The what, why and how of green software development
In these climate-conscious times, being green is a good thing. Usually, we think about the environmental impact of building real estate or physical products, but digital development can be ‘green’ too. Software may not have a physical form but it can still have an impact on the world around it. This article offers an overview of green software development: what it is, why it’s important, and how developers can make their products more eco-friendly.
Table of contents
What is green development?
Put simply, green software development means that both the development process and the resulting product have a minimal (preferably zero) negative impact on the environment. According to the Green Software Foundation, there are three basic ways to do this:
· Use less physical resources
· Use less energy
· Use energy more intelligently (e.g. using lower-carbon energy sources)
Anything that ensures the resulting digital product is less costly in terms of carbon emissions is a part of green software development, including software architecture, the necessary hardware and data storage, the software team’s development process and practices.
Why sustainable development?
There are endless studies and research documents showing the impact of humanity on the ecosystem and environment. Most people have accepted that we need to change how we live on this planet if we want to avoid changing the ecology and the climate for the worse. Pretty much any field of human activity can be improved in this sense, and that includes software and its development.
Even cautious estimates show the ICT sector accounting for around 2% of global emissions (similar to the aviation industry) and at current rates, that figure could rise to 20% by 2030. One reason is the Internet of Things, the rapidly-growing global network of wirelessly connected devices exchanging information.
Another is the number of data centres worldwide, also growing rapidly and showing little sign of slowing. Everything requires electricity and on a global level, 71% of electricity generation is from non-renewable sources (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 2020).
What are green development benefits?
Apart from the obvious moral or common sense imperative to not destroy our own environment, green software developers have identified a number of other benefits (just in case not rendering the planet uninhabitable isn’t enough!)
- Simpler architecture – The structure of sustainable applications tend to have fewer interdependencies, meaning that their functioning is likely to be more straightforward and energy-efficient. Furthermore, simpler software is likely to also be faster.
- Low resource usage – Due to the greater simplicity and faster performance, green software requires fewer resources and less energy, making it more cost-effective.
- A boost to your brand – These days, your brand’s reputation is as important as its performance. Social responsibility and eco-awareness are definite benefits to your brand, encouraging user and client loyalty.
The key green software development factors
It’s good for the planet and it’s good for your brand, but how do you ensure your software development practices are green? Bear in mind the following factors throughout the development process and the life cycle of your software.
- Carbon efficiency – Lowering carbon emissions is the basic goal. Any part of the development process that can be carried out with a reduced carbon footprint is worth attention. Which brings us to…
- Electricity – Being intangible, any software’s main impact on the environment derives from its power usage. A developer can’t determine where the software user gets their electricity, but they can create a product with lower consumption.
- Energy utilization – Compare a device or server’s power consumption with the percentage of its resources in use. Running at maximum capacity means a high utilization rate which, in terms of energy efficiency, is the goal.
- The cost of networking – Data exchange and transmission via a network (the obvious example being the internet) relies on various servers, routers, switches and other devices. Software design and development that minimizes the quantity of data being sent, and the distance it travels, is greener.
Tips for green software engineering
Considering the above factors as you develop software is the ideal but what do they mean in more specific terms? Which development options actually make a difference to the environment? This section contains a number of specific recommendations for green software engineering.
Know your power consumptions – Different features consume different levels of power.
Minimizing this is key to reducing carbon emissions. Consider each feature of a digital product, together with its probably usage scenarios, and map the power consumption. High-consuming features are a focus for efficiency improvements.
Power modes – Ensure your software makes the most of (or at the least, responds appropriately to) a device’s different power modes.
Choice of programming language – A 2018 study found variations in energy use between 10 different programming languages, including the popular C, C++, and Rust.
Get rid of unused features – If you’re dealing with an established product, consider which elements of the current design are no longer necessary (either they are not used or there are better ways to achieve the function). Streamlining your design improves energy efficiency.
Choice of AI/ML – Similar in principle to any other function, your choice of machine learning model can have an effect on energy consumption, likewise the choice of hardware on which you run it.
Remove dead ends – Anything that is uselessly consuming energy (for example, a routine attempting to reach and unreachable server) should go.
Focus on data usage – As mentioned above, it’s greener to minimize the quantity of data you’re transmitting (and the distance over which it is transmitted). Think about the efficiency of your cache policy, and the life cycle of the stored data and how you might use compression and/or aggregation.
Monitoring energy consumption – Track and provide usage data; it’s not just helpful to the developer working on improvements, you can provide useful (and actionable) information to the user.
The future’s bright, the future’s green
Awareness of our impact on the planet is growing across all disciplines, all business sectors, and all areas of our lives. Software development is no exception though it is, perhaps, a relatively new arena for green thinking.
The fact is, the choices developers make – of language, code, architecture, etc. – have an impact on how ‘green’ the software is. Add in the growing acceptance that green software development is cheaper and more efficient to run, better optimized, and better performing and whatever your personal perspective greener software seems like a good idea.
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