Green IO Newsletter - May 2024
Building a greener digital world, one byte at a time
Hello responsible technologist!
Gaël is working hard on forthcoming Green IO conferences - 100% committed and operating at breakneck speed as usual - so this month I have the pleasure of humbly sharing one or two thoughts with you.
In trying to navigate the complexity of tech influences on our daily lives, my tea and biscuit consumption has hit an all-time high. Power hungry AI development and use, market control, social media content regulation, or data protection and privacy are to name but a few. As highlighted in E39, the raft of legislation touching on digitalization, energy efficiency, product development and responsible consumerism now shows that governments across the globe are taking these issues seriously. Yet responses vary greatly, and in turn raise further questions. Who is in charge of making the rule book? What part do individuals and organizations have to play? Where is technology taking us, or should we really be asking, where do we want to go with tech?
Tackling climate change is not easy, and tech won’t fix everything. Together we must develop and adhere to common standards. More than ever, we need a cultural shift grounded in science-based evidence and shared methodologies by which to both drive action and measure the Paris Agreement and related UN global goals. Digging deep to gain such consensus requires transparency and a good dose of humility too. No matter our job title or skill set, we all have a role to play and a civic duty to exercise. We can vote. We can pay more attention to what is happening in the sector, taking time to communicate clearly, listen (and hear) the different points of view. We can also advocate a learning alliance approach to ensure that tech is used for good, and, importantly, that responsible, low-carbon, technology is created in the first place.
Green IO tries to play its part by enabling collaborative working, building bridges, and creating spaces for meaningful dialogue. Yet we too are on a learning curve, constantly trying to improve what we do, so we can be of real use to the tech community (and beyond). Same goes for this newsletter. Therefore, your feedback is more important than ever. The door is always open, so please do reach out to us with your thoughts and input.
Hope you enjoy this edition, and we very much look forward to collaborating with you in the near future.
Jill TELLIER
📧 Want to share something, get involved or collaborate with us ? Drop us an email at contact@greenio.com
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What’s been happening this month in Green IO?
🎙️ Podcast episodes
#38 “O’Reilly book: Building Green Software" with Sara Bergman. Listen | Read
#39 “European Sustainability Regulation: to which level does it impact Tech Companies" with Kim Van Sparrentak and Max Schulze. Listen | Read
#40 “Nordic way of applying digital sustainability“ with Satu Heikinheimo and Janne Kalliola. Release date: June 4th.
#41 “Decarbonizing AWS“ with Adrian Cockcroft. Release date: June 18th.
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🎤 Green IO conferences
London, September 19, 2024
This year we intend to bring together an amazing community of responsible technologists. Check out the line-up and get early bird tickets - until June 19th! - here.
Paris, December 4-5, 2024
The most comprehensive program combining experts and use-cases worldwide. Check the line-up and get early bird tickets - until September 4th - here.
Singapore 2025, date tba
A second edition to boost digital sustainability in SEA - date to be announced soon, with program to follow.
Be part of the Green IO conference adventure
We are always looking for great speakers with inspiring stories or hands-on use cases. Apply to be a speaker via our Apidays partner here and select “Green IT and Sustainability (Green IO Conference)". You can also become a Green IO volunteer with tons of perks such as free tickets and networking opportunities. And it’s great fun too. Check out the volunteer cheat sheet here.
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🎯 Looking for an easy way to make an impact? Share this edition! Forward this email to a colleague or spread the word on LinkedIn (or elsewhere).
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# Listen # Watch # Read # Study # Participate # Attend
What else has popped up on our Tech & Sustainability radar?
# Listen… We’re all ears
Jill’s pick: - E212 of Tech Won’t Save Us podcast provides insight on social media content regulation, and the blurry boundaries between tech and government, as well as the thorny issues of data protection, data privacy and surveillance.
With another activist lense, Environment Variable’s episode on Greening Software Procurement brings valuable insights on how sustainability could learn from accessibility successes over the last decade, and Zak Stein in E122 of The Great Simplification highlights how unfettered technology and artificial intelligence influence youth and what should parents, adults, and teachers be doing in response.
# Watch… Sometimes video is worth its environmental footprint
Gaël’s pick: Deep dive on Measuring the Environmental Impact of software with Asim Hussain from the Green Software Foundation, who also broaches the subject of power and control, where the ability to influence people and events can be considered on a spectrum from the powerful to the powerless…
# Read… Our coffee break reading this month
Gaël’s pick: E-waste pledges from big manufacturers are in turmoil and bad news are sadly echoing this month. Samsung’s approach, or lack of, to repairability has meant that IFixit has ended their collaboration, and Apple’s policy of shredding devices rather than repairing or reconditioning seems misguided to say the least.
For anyone interested in greening AI and the cloud, the Common Crawl case gives insights into certain tools and methodologies on measuring environmental impact, Leonie Monigatti’s research on DLM efficiency in production focuses on predictive performance an inference run time, and Sasha Luccioni suggests an Energy star ratings for AI models. Branch magazine Spring edition is a triumph in collaboration and the article on permacomputing brings a welcome organic feeling into a very mineral world of tech.
Bonus: Old school can sometimes be cool - is tape making come-back for data backup?
# Study… We’re never too old to learn
Gaël’s pick: The much awaited v2 of the Policy framework for eco-design of digital services (RGESN in French) has been released. It is a great go-to technical document aimed at development and design professionals to implement comprehensive sustainable design. This framework is now mandatory to use in the French public sector.
Continuing on with the idea of standards and common methodologies, Photon provides sampled simulation methodology tailored to GPUs. On a more general level, the UN Global Resources Outlook 2024 gives concrete ideas on how to drive the transformation towards global sustainable resource consumption and production. Plus, for all you Francophones out there, the Systex report (in French) on urban mining & recycling of materials provides an analysis of current waste minimization measures and their efficacy in promoting circularity and reducing environmental impact.
# Participate… One byte at a time
Jill’s pick: In a move to boost transparency and collaboration, the Green Software Foundation invites teams who are applying the Software Carbon Intensity ISO standard to submit a use case for review.
# Attend… Meet fellow responsible technologists
AI for Good Global Summit 30-31 May, Geneva (CH)
Green Software Meetup, 6 June, Stuttgart (GER)
Green Software Meetup: Sustainability Lab, 7 June, Karlsruhe (GER)
The AI Summit 2024, 12-13 June, London (UK)
Green Tech Forum, 18-19 June 2024, Brussels (B)
ICT4S 2024 24-28 June 2024, Stockholm (SE)
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One last (positive) thought…
Bison: the new climate heroes! The Rewilding Europe project in the Tarcu Mountains shows how regenerative land management techniques have a huge role to play in protecting and enhancing biodiversity and providing vital ecosystem services.
See you next month!
Gaël DUEZ, Jill TELLIER & the Green IO Team