Sustainable Software Engineering Focuses on a Shift in Priorities and Approach

Montevideo, January 18, 2023.

Sustainability is one of the priorities in human activities in general. From the technology sector, it is possible to contribute to building and running sustainable software applications that help minimize the carbon footprint. This can be achieved through the use of various methods and tools applied throughout the software lifecycle.

Sustainable Software Engineering arises with the goal of establishing standards and applying best practices to create sustainable software or applications, thereby contributing to the conservation of natural resources. This approach can reduce energy consumption and produce fewer carbon emissions.

This discipline is based on eight principles that guide the development of more environmentally friendly systems. Its approaches range from creating more efficient applications to changing protocols used for data transmission.

To learn more about this discipline, in the following interview, Martín Miguez, developer at Sofis Solutions, shares the importance of creating solutions that reduce the carbon footprint of every aspect of an application and provides some tips for incorporating best practices in software development.

How did the practice of Sustainable Software Engineering arise?

Sustainability is a concept that encompasses almost every aspect of our lives. This is due to the indiscriminate use of resources, the consequences of which we are beginning to see. Software Engineering is not exempt from being part of the problem.

From this perspective, sustainable solutions began to emerge to optimize resources from a Software Engineering viewpoint.

What role does Software Engineering play in Sustainable Development?

Software Engineering can play a very important role in this area. The impact of technologies on the CO2 footprint is becoming increasingly visible, mainly due to energy consumption, though the sources generating that energy are the main cause of the footprint.

It is clear that sustainable technologies can be implemented long-term with environmental awareness, from creation and implementation—where Software Engineering plays a key role—to maintenance and updates.

Why is it important to implement sustainability practices in the software lifecycle?

Sustainability practices help in many ways, primarily by reducing the CO2 footprint, using technological tools, processes, and methods. They also raise environmental awareness among those implementing them.

Another factor that directly impacts software quality, as these practices aim to minimize energy consumption, optimizing processor use, data management, client-server interactions, etc., resulting in more efficient, faster, and scalable systems.

What are the benefits of developing a product or service from a sustainable perspective?

There are many benefits. From a sustainability perspective, the direct benefit is the reduction of the CO2 footprint.

Indirect benefits are also significant, from improved product quality to business advantages. Sustainable products and services are more accepted due to the growing environmental awareness of the general population, which can translate into customer or user retention and compliance with environmental quality standards.

How can sustainability be incorporated into daily software development practices?

First, create a company-wide plan, then generate practices and processes to foster a culture of sustainable software development. Practices and processes can translate into policies, tools, methodologies, standards, and more.

I say "within possibilities" because many practices require investments of time and money. Also, clients may not agree with certain changes or workflows due to established methodologies. However, there are many ways to incorporate these best practices.

What types of software best practices can be applied for Sustainable Development?

Nowadays, some companies use servers or PCs indiscriminately (multiple development, test, staging environments, test databases, applications, mocks, etc.), often running 24/7. Solutions include virtual machines, containers, or cloud services, each optimizing efficiency.

Another practice is optimizing work environments by improving configurations to minimize unnecessary processes (unused open projects, plugins generating constant processing, requests, updates, automated builds, etc.). Another key point is programming language usage; often, we use familiar methods or functions without knowing more efficient alternatives.

While tools like SonarQube help, training, research, developer feedback, and general rules are also essential to promote sustainable practices.