Actor and presenter Waseem Mirza was frustrated when he learned he would need to replace his perfectly functional phone. Despite its excellent performance, Samsung had stopped providing security updates for the device back in 2020. “I just wish there was a way to get more life out of this old bit of tech,” he shared, expressing his disappointment.
Reflecting on his experience, he remarked, “I thought the lack of [security] updates was pretty stupid, really.” Having purchased the phone in 2016, he felt like the manufacturer was compelling him to upgrade, even though “your battery and your screen are still working great.”
Mr. Mirza relied heavily on his phone for managing his online banking and his production company, emphasizing that staying up-to-date with critical software updates was crucial for him. However, the financial implications of upgrading aren’t the only concern; there’s also the environmental impact. It’s estimated that around 80% of a mobile phone’s carbon emissions stem from its production, a concept known as embedded or embodied carbon. Therefore, maximizing the lifespan of devices while still accessing essential software can significantly contribute to reducing emissions.
Fortunately, an operating system called /e/OS might offer a viable solution. This free version of Android is designed to breathe new life into devices that no longer receive updates from their manufacturers, thereby providing a greener alternative. Mr. Mirza’s old phone is one of over 200 supported devices, some of which date back ten years. When support for the Galaxy S7 Edge ends next year due to hardware limitations, /e/OS will have effectively extended its usability by an extra five years.
“We make /e/OS available for devices that have not been supported for a long time by their manufacturers,” explained Gaël Duval, the founder of /e/OS. “We aim to ensure they receive all the newest security updates. Big manufacturers often load phones with bloatware—features that users don’t use—which can slow down the device over time. We focus on making the software lighter so it continues to run efficiently on older devices.”
Major manufacturers are starting to extend the support lifespan for new devices. For instance, Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series will receive support for seven years, a move that aligns with Google’s commitment for its Pixel devices. Apple is also promising a minimum of five years of support for the iPhone 16. “Given the current processor architecture and memory size on these newer phones, it’s likely they will remain usable well beyond seven years,” noted Rik Viergever, the COO of /e/OS.
In addition to prolonging device lifespan, software can also be optimized for greater carbon efficiency during operation. Mobile apps, for instance, must be energy-efficient due to the limited battery life of phones. However, many software applications operate on servers in data centers that don’t have the same power consumption limitations.
“You rarely consider the electricity used when building server applications, so optimization often falls by the wayside,” said Asim Hussain, executive director of the Green Software Foundation. “There’s hardly any tools to measure it.”
The Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification was recently established as a global standard to measure software’s carbon footprint, taking into account the emissions produced by the software while operating, in addition to the embodied carbon from the hardware it runs on. This specification aims to provide a carbon intensity score that developers can utilize to gauge their progress in reducing emissions from their software. Notably, the Green Software Foundation, which includes over 60 members like Microsoft, Intel, and Google, developed this framework.
“We define green software as software that is both energy-efficient and hardware-efficient, meaning it uses the least physical resources possible to minimize embodied emissions,” Mr. Hussain explained. “We also incorporate the aspect of being carbon aware, which encourages using more resources when electricity is clean and reducing usage when it’s derived from less sustainable sources.”
However, establishing the SCI score is no simple task. “Calculating [the SCI] is astonishingly difficult,” Mr. Hussain admitted, attributing the challenge to a lack of data.
To address this, the Green Software Foundation has created models known as the Impact Framework. These models utilize observable data—like how much of a server’s resources are used—to estimate carbon emissions. Mr. Hussain advises chief technology officers to trust their teams with performance indicators like the SCI, as they will figure out what needs to be optimized. “You might not get it right the first time, but transparency and feedback are crucial,” he added.
To assist developers in enhancing their software’s energy efficiency, the ecoCode project is identifying “code smells”—indicators that code could be optimized for resource usage. Tariq Shaukat, CEO of Sonar, which supports the ecoCode project, noted that many of these code smells stem from overly complex programming or inefficient data handling.
Peter Campbell, director of green software at Kainos, an IT services company, shared insights from his experience. “We believed that by educating our engineers, product teams, and designers, we could foster a widespread commitment to sustainability,” he said. “However, it hasn’t been as straightforward as we thought. Cultivating a culture of prioritizing sustainability in the face of numerous competing demands can be quite challenging.”
The information technology and communications (ICT) sector accounted for approximately 1.4% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, with projections suggesting it could rise to 14% by 2040. There are indications that larger corporations are beginning to take these concerns more seriously. Currently, only 10% of large global enterprises consider software sustainability a requirement, but analysts predict that figure will increase to 30% by 2027.
Mr. Hussain concluded by emphasizing that decarbonizing software is comparatively easier than in other sectors, such as aviation. “We should push this button now because we can,” he added.
