Sustainability of Coding – Interview with Max Westing with Reset
In a recent interview with the journalist Benjamin Lucks from RESET, Max Westing shared some valuable knowledge about sustainable coding. He gave insights into important data, which was gathered in the two successive research projects “Potentials of Green Coding” and “Unlocking the Potential of Green Coding into Practice” which are funded by the Internet Society Foundation (ISOC).
In his interview, Max Westing highlighted several key points that are important to consider when integrating more sustainable practices into coding:
He emphasizes that writing software is inherently complex, involving multiple levels of abstraction in which human-readable code is translated into machine-executable instructions. This complexity also shapes its environmental impact.
From a sustainability perspective, code libraries play a key role. As components can be replicated in millions of devices, they generate significant scale effects when implementing more efficient solutions. Deployment strategies further influence these effects, as optimized system configurations can amplify efficiency gains.
Building on these technical optimizations, sustainable software design also extends to how users interact with applications. Improving usability ensures that users spend less time on applications, making them more efficient. In addition, resource-intensive tasks can be executed at times when more renewable energy is available – a concept known as carbon-aware load shifting.
At the same time, rebound effects remain a major challenge: savings from more efficient software are typically reinvested into new hardware. An example is the miniaturization of devices (e.g. smartphones), which lead to a wider adoption of technology and a more frequent use of language models for instance.
The growing use of AI for code generation (vibe coding) also raises new questions. While AI tools may increase developer productivity, they also require substantial energy for training and operation. Whether their use leads to net environmental benefits is still unclear.
Measuring environmental impacts of software in general can be challenging as the researchers of the ECO:DIGIT project team have shown in another interview with RESET author Benjamin Lucks. Therefore, research projects such as ECO:DIGIT and Unlocking the Potential of Green Coding into Practice play a vital role in gathering more information and spreading important knowledge in order to pave the way for more sustainable software.
