Microsoft is teaming up with GitHub, Accenture, and ThoughtWorks to launch the Green Software Foundation, a nonprofit that will work on establishing new standards to reduce the carbon emissions of software. The organization will be established with the Linux Foundation, and the founding members will be joined by other non-profits including Leaders for Climate Action, Watt Time, and The Green Web Foundation.
The Green Software Foundation will have three main purposes: establishing green software industry standards, accelerating innovation in green software, and driving the adoption of new sustainable standards across the industry. There’s a long road ahead towards carbon-free software, but the Foundation is committed to doing its part in helping the Information and Communications Technology sector’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.
“The scientific consensus is clear: the world confronts an urgent carbon problem. It will take all of us working together to create innovative solutions to drastically reduce emissions,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith. “Today, Microsoft is joining with organizations who are serious about an environmentally sustainable future to drive adoption of green software development to help our customers and partners around the world reduce their carbon footprint.”
Microsoft announced the launch of the Green Software Foundation on the first day of its annual Build developer conference, and the company had many other announcements regarding Azure, Microsoft 365, and more this morning. You can follow the rest of our Build 2021 coverage on this page.
