Realizing he would have to update his phone, actor and broadcaster Waseem Mirza found himself in a typical conundrum. Though everything runs flawlessly, Samsung’s ending of security upgrades in 2020 left him disappointed. “I just wish there was a way to get more life out of this old bit of tech,” he said.
What Are the Implications of Outdated Devices?
Mirza, who bought his phone in 2016, voiced discontent with the lack of assistance. “I thought the absence of [security] updates was rather dumb, really,” he said. Although his battery and screen stayed in great shape, he felt manufacturers pushed him to upgrade. Getting the most recent essential software upgrades became even more crucial for him since he handles his online banking using the gadget.
Although upgrading has financial consequences, the environmental cost is much more critical. Known as embedded or embodied carbon, almost 80% of the carbon emissions from mobile phones come from their manufacture. From an emissions standpoint, running a phone through software upgrades is helpful.
Could /e/OS Provide a Greener Alternative?
Mirza might have found answers in an operational system known as /e/OS. Designed to prolong the life of devices that no longer receive updates, this free version of Android provides a more sustainable substitute for manufacturer software.
Mr Mirza has over 200 supported devices, some dating back over ten years. /e/OS will have extended the life of the Galaxy S7 Edge by five more years when hardware restrictions cause support for the phone to stop next year. “We make /e/OS available for devices that their manufacturers have not supported for a long time,” the /e/OS founder said. He said, “We try to [enable them to] receive all the newest security updates,” he underlined the need to secure older devices. Large manufacturers load phones with bloatware, worthless items people are not utilizing. This slows things down gradually over time. We designed the program to be lightweight and run effectively on older hardware.
How Are Manufacturers Extending Support?
For phone makers, the terrain is shifting; many are supporting lifetimes. Matching Google’s dedication to its Pixel devices, Samsung, for example, has said that its Galaxy S24 phones will henceforth get upgrades for seven years. Apple has promised to support the iPhone 16 for at least five years.
Given these more recent phones’ current processing design and memory capacity, they are expected to remain usable for a very long period—probably far beyond seven years.
In What Ways Can Software Become More Carbon Efficient?
Apart from extending device lifetimes, software has the potential to be more carbon-efficient during operation. Given limited battery life, mobile phone apps must prioritize energy economy; nevertheless, much software runs on servers in data centers, where power consumption is less restricted.
“You don’t do anything to maximize for that as you never even consider how much electricity you consume creating server applications. There is practically any instrument available to even gauge it.
The Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification seeks to solve this problem through software carbon footprint measurement. Early this year, it became accepted as a worldwide industry standard. The SCI computation includes embodied carbon from the hardware the system operates on and emissions from the running software.
How Can We Track Progress Towards Sustainability?
The aim is to provide software developers with a carbon intensity score to track their emissions-reducing performance. The Green Software Foundation, which boasts over 60 members, including Google, Intel, and Microsoft, is leading this endeavor.
Green software is “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,” it says. It is also carbon-conscious; hence, it runs less when the power is dirty and more when it is clean.
What Challenges Exist in Measuring Carbon Intensity?
Finding this carbon score, though, can prove challenging. “Calculating [the SCI] is very difficult. Lack of data is the issue.
The Green Software Foundation created the Impact Framework, a set of ideas to close this void. This model generates approximations for carbon emissions using observable data, such as the proportion of a server’s resources being used.
How Can CTOs Foster a Culture of Sustainability?
Chief technology officers are instructed to “believe that if you provide your teams with a performance indicator like the SCI, they would know what they need to do to maximize it. You will most likely do it wrong the first time around, but be as open as possible and get comments.
The ecoCode project is compiling a “code smells” collection to help developers improve their program’s energy efficiency even more. These are signs that code may be more resource-efficient, including replacing more effective instructions with less energy-consuming alternatives.
Many of these “code smells” are observed to be related to codes that are too complicated. Another type includes ineffective items, such as routinely updating or gathering more data than is required. Another issue is bloating: how could programs be made lean, straightforward, and feasible?
What Steps Are Being Taken to Build a Culture of Sustainability in IT?
The director of green software at Kainos, an IT provider of cloud-based solutions, underlined the difficulties in encouraging a sustainable culture. The company has educated 500 engineers, product people, and designers using the free short course the Green Software Foundation provided.
“We reasoned that if we educated both inside and outside, it would be magically adopted by every team,” he said. “Turns out it doesn’t work as simple as that. The cultural aspect is quite challenging—not only to convince people to behave but also to give it top priority. Our clients have so many objectives that perhaps sustainability isn’t the most prominent.
How Is the ICT Sector Contributing to Carbon Emissions?
An estimated 1.4% of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 came from the information technology and communications (ICT) industry. However, a 2018 study projects that this percentage could reach 14% in 2040.
Still, there is evidence that big businesses are giving sustainability more thought. Although just 10% of big worldwide companies already incorporate software sustainability into their needs, experts estimate that in 2027, this figure will rise to 30%.
It is underlined that software is somewhat easy to decarbonize, among many other industries, including aviation. “We should push this button now as much as we can.”
