“Green Software” When actor and presenter Waseem Mirza realized his phone would no longer get security updates, he was frustrated. “I just wish there was a way to get more life out of this old bit of tech,” he said. The phone, which he’d relied on for online banking and work, was still in great shape, but without essential updates, using it had become a risk. “Your battery and your screen are still working great. You feel as though the manufacturer is forcing you to upgrade.”
For users like Mirza, the answer might just lie with alternative systems like /e/OS. Created by Gaël Duval, this open-source operating system offers a lifeline to phones and tablets that manufacturers have moved on from. “We make /e/OS available for devices that have not been supported for a long time by their manufacturers,” says Duval, adding that the software is “lighter, so it keeps running efficiently on older devices.” Even Samsung’s Galaxy S7 Edge, released in 2016, could see its life extended by five more years beyond Samsung’s support, which will end next year.
Big players are slowly joining in on extending software support, too. Samsung now promises seven years for its new Galaxy S24 phones, matching Google’s support for its latest Pixel models. And while Apple’s iPhone 16 has a minimum support of five years, it’s likely the hardware will last longer. “Due to the current [processor] architecture and size of memory on these newer phones, it’s likely they will remain usable for a really long time,” explains Rik Viergever, COO at /e/OS.
A Carbon-Counting Revolution in Software
The environmental stakes are high: around 80% of a phone’s carbon emissions are linked to its manufacturing. As Asim Hussain, executive director of the Green Software Foundation, explains, “You never even think about how much electricity you use when you’re building server applications, so you don’t do anything to optimize for that.” To tackle this, the Green Software Foundation introduced the Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification earlier this year, a global standard to help measure software’s carbon footprint. SCI looks at both the emissions from the software’s operations and the “embodied carbon” from the hardware it runs on.
“We describe green software as software that is energy efficient and hardware efficient, which means it uses the least amount of physical resources possible, so there are fewer embodied emissions,” Hussain says. Software, he notes, is “much easier to decarbonize than many other sectors, such as aviation.” The SCI model offers a carbon intensity score, which allows developers to track their emissions footprint, but the calculation is complex. “Calculating [the SCI] is stunningly hard,” Hussain admits. The challenge is “the lack of data,” so the Green Software Foundation has created an Impact Framework that converts server observations into carbon emission estimates.
Code Optimization: A Key Step for Lowering Carbon Output
To address inefficiencies, the ecoCode project is identifying “code smells” — or signs that code might be using unnecessary resources. Tariq Shaukat, CEO of Sonar, explains that “a lot [of code smells] would fall under the umbrella of overly complex code,” while others are related to frequent data updates or bloat, which can all lead to higher energy consumption. ecoCode’s goal is to make apps “as lean and streamlined as possible.”
Green coding is about changing development habits. Peter Campbell, green software director at Kainos, says that after training his team of 500 engineers and designers using the Green Software Foundation’s short course, he quickly realized that making green coding a top priority wasn’t easy. “The culture piece is really hard, not just to get people to act, but to keep prioritising it,” he admits. Campbell sees momentum building, however, as sustainability in software gains more traction.
Why Green Software Is Critical for the Future of Technology
The information and communications technology (ICT) sector could see a significant impact on emissions, as studies indicate that it accounted for around 1.4% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 but could rise to 14% by 2040. Although only 10% of large companies require software sustainability today, Gartner predicts this figure could reach 30% by 2027. Hussain urges immediate action: “We should push this button now because we can.”
The convergence of alternative OS systems like /e/OS, SCI scoring, and green coding practices could transform how we view tech longevity and efficiency. Big manufacturers and developers are recognizing the importance of extending device lifespans and creating greener software.
