By one estimate, consumption could jump to as much as 13 percent of the world’s total electricity demand by 2030. Everyone seems to be slowly convinced of the existence of climate change and the necessity of reacting to it. Climate change and the prevailing energy crisis in today’s world force us to examine all energy consumption. The ICT sector must also participate in ways to save energy, because all information processing, presentation and transfer consumes energy.

Technology for massive reductions in environmental footprint already exists – many try to optimize data centers PAU with different approaces and cleaner power generation. Green Data: The Next Step to Zero-Emissions Data Centers article mentions that as cloud computing becomes more energy efficient and increasingly relies on renewable sources it can help. The data center industry needs to think about this. Some players already do that.

But can coders help in making IT industry more green? Does anyone talk about writing greener software instead of bloatware? Does anyone talk to think that the features and all the processing of data makes sense?

Earlier as the speed of devices has continuously increased, it has been possible to implement software without worrying about efficiency. And while software grows in size, so does the amount of energy they consume. Software already reduces emissions by streamlining or optimizing other operations. This is called a carbon fingerprint. The IT industry has reduced unnecessary intermediate steps in processes or minimized the use of paper and printing. However, it cannot justify the inefficiency of the software and the growing energy consumption.

Yes, there is talking on going on green code and green IT more on last few years. It is not always clear how each of us can influence the matter. Software development is an excellent example of an industry where the climate impact of work can vary greatly depending on work methods. The same end result can be achieved either climate-wise way or by using bloatware that causes a large climate burden. The same end results can can be often achieved efficiently or ineffectively, in which case it is smart from the point of view of the Earth to choose an efficient implementation.

There is a lot of reckless data usage. The computing, storage and data transfer capacity of digital devices have developed in a way that no other field of technology has been able to do. Massive data transfer in use nowadays means massive extra energy consumption. In the fiber backbone network, to which the computer is often connected, the energy consumption of the transmitted bit is still reasonable. On the other hand, the mobile network clearly consumes more energy to transfer a bit, up to a thousand times more per bit. Why should smartphones be capable of computing at the level of supercomputers, when they mainly use various social media services or play games? Of course, there is a need for graphics for a better user experience, and because of ads, the pages are free for their users. Overall, however, the number of ads and graphics is far too large and poorly optimized.

It is clear that, on average, various websites have way too much data behind them. The kind of data that consumes a lot of energy, but often does not provide exceptional added value from the user’s point of view. In last 10 years the the typical size of web pages created for computers has increased by 500 percent and for mobile devices by more than 1000 percent. As a result, the size of a typical page for both mobile devices and computers is the same, around 2 megabytes. So what does this mean in practice? Overload and massive energy consumption: The data must first be stored on servers, transferred over the data network and processed in the terminal devices. The data is also typically disposable, i.e. it is loaded again when the website is visited later. And much of this data transfer is unnecessary. Optimizing websites can be done. These savings can be up to 50 percent of the traffic caused by the service. In some cases, it is possible to achieve savings of 90 percent, so that the end user does not see any difference. Many online stores have already noticed that the optimized pages work faster for the users, and that the faster their business is, the better their turnover is. If optimization starts to be done more widely, the consequences could be downright revolutionary.

In software development, highly automated processes are available in cloud services, data transfer and SaaS products. Unfortunately, this mode of operation – at least in its current form – limits our visibility to both our energy consumption and climate emissions. We need to gain knowledge how much much your systems consumes and why. In addition to knowledge, we must also have a view of the meaning of knowledge. A climate-wise coder needs a feel for key quantities. If our server consumes a kilowatt-hour of energy, is it a lot or a little?

Fortunately, research and discussion about the climate impacts of the ICT sector has already started and gained good momentum a few years ago. In Finland, it has been investigated e.g. in TIEKE ry’s Green ICT project (2021-2023), in which they promoted lower-carbon digital service production and climate-wise procurement expertise of companies and the public sector in the Uusimaa region in Finland.

Their web pages give information how to move forward on green IT. The project estimated that in many cases the footprint of an individual ICT service can be reduced by up to 90 percent with the right measures.

It is possible to minimize the inefficiency of the software using the so-called with green coding. Green code is an attitude or thought model towards coding, which results in optimized and resource-efficient code. At the same time, it should maximize value and minimize energy consumption. The opposite of green code is waste – energy-consuming activities that do not produce value. Green coding especially affects energy consumption. It aims to minimize both the time spent on data processing and the amount of data transferred, because both of them consume energy and cause climate emissions. Sustainable software engineering is better for the environment and can help a business’s bottom line. Those working in software development should think more about the carbon footprint of the lines of code they write.

Janne Kalliola has written an excellent book, Vihreä Koodi / Green Code that covers the topic what is green code. Green IT and code have already been talked about quite a lot in Finland over the past year. More software companies have started to talk about green coding, and to promote it. However, it has not yet been defined what the green code or eco-efficient systems are. The purpose of the book is not to unequivocally define green code and create a canon. Instead, the idea is to focus on describing patterns to stimulate thinking and presenting various solutions. By using these, anyone working on the matter can analyse their situation and identify the changes they need to make to become more environmentally friendly.

The Green Code book offers insights on the following topics:

• Why should code be green?
• The energy consumption of software
• Raiders of the lost efficiency
• Solutions on tackling lost efficiency
• Concrete recommendations for the main stakeholders involved in green software development, all the way from software developers to end-users

The second extended edition of the book also offers insights into the energy dynamics of AI, data usage, cryptocurrencies and the internet of things (IoT), while highlighting actionable strategies for sustainable growth.

The book is available in English with name Green Code at
https://www.exove.com/green-code/

You can download the original Vihreä Koodi in Finnish language at
https://www.exove.com/fi/vihrea-koodi/

Links to sources:
TIEKE ry’s Green ICT project
https://www.codeo.fi/blogi/vihrea-ict/
https://www.epanorama.net/newepa/2012/04/18/how-clean-is-your-cloud-and-telecom/
https://www.exove.com/fi/vihrea-koodi/
https://www.exove.com/green-code/
https://punamusta.com/asiantuntija/vihrea-koodi-on-tulevaisuuden-itta/
Sustainable Software Engineering – What Is It And What You Need To Know
https://www.mustread.fi/artikkelit/ratkaisu-on-vihrea-koodi-monet-digitaaliset-palvelut-on-suunniteltu-huonosti-ja-ne-vievat-valtavasti-energiaa/
https://www.sytyke.org/kestava-kehitys/vihrea-koodi/
https://www.greencode.world/
https://www.cgi.com/fi/fi/blogi/mita-green-coding-on
https://blog.digia.com/green-code-energiaviisaampia-ratkaisuja-asiakkaitamme-ja-tulevaisuuttamme-varten

Recycling plastic is complex. There are many different types of plastic made from many different types of resins and processed differently during manufacturing of packages. Common plastics such as PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene), PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene), and others need to be sorted into distinct categories for the recycling to work. Some plastic types can be recycled better than other. For those easy to recycle plastic types plastic is typically first cleaned to remove contaminants, shredded or granulated into small pieces, melted, formed into pellets or granules. Those pellets of granules can be used to make new plastic products.

There are various challenges is plastic recycling, and in many locations it does not work too well. But there are is one recycling that works well in some countries: plastic bottle recycling. The first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) disposable soda bottle was introduced back in 1975. Creating a lightweight disposable bottle was more convenient for businesses as they do not break as easily as glass bottles and are lighter to transport, saving energy. A wide range of drinks, food products and other consumer goods are bottled in PET. The majority of bottles contain water or soft drinks, both still and carbonated.

The plastic packaging and beverage industry was encouraging recycling initiative, but in many places they are not widely recycled. All types of PET packaging, including bottles are usually marked with the recycle symbol 1.

There have been claims that plastic bottles cannot be recycled into new plastic bottles. Although this might have been largely true in the past, this is changed. Nowadays plastic bottles can be recycled, and they are recycled successfully in some countries. Although plastic bottle recycling certainly can reduce waste, in many countries lots of plastic is going to landfills. Just because a plastic bottle has recycling arrows on the bottom doesn’t actually mean it is recyclable in a given area.

Some countries have legislated a deposit for packaging including PET bottles. In the EU, deposit schemes average an 86% recovery rate. In Finland there is a DEPOSIT-BASED SYSTEM for plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans. There is return rate of more than 90%. In Finland 460 million plastic bottles are returned every year. In Finland plastic bottles are converted to PET plastic raw material (small plastic balls). This material is used to make new plastic bottles, food packages and other plastic products. Here is an example of Coca Cola bottle that is made 100% from recycled PET.

Finland’s system for returning beverage containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. The development of a bottle return system began in Finland with the arrival of Coca-Cola bottles at the 1952 Olympic Games. Today, 65 years later, Finland has the world’s best bottle deposit and return system – thanks to the model administered by Palpa. The system is based on a deposit: a fee that is returned to the consumer when they return a bottle or other drinks packaging.

Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success in Finland. Finnish residents returned more than two billion bottles and cans in 2020, 93 percent of the total amount purchased in the country. The factors that make this possible include automated bottle-return machines developed decades ago and the expansion of the system to include plastic bottles in the 2000s. Every time a person buys a beverage in a bottle or can, they pay a deposit of 15 to 40 cents. The system covers alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and bottled water, in aluminium cans, glass bottles and bottles made from PET plastic. People return most of the bottles they have. On average, every Finn returns 373 items in a year: 251 aluminum cans, 98 plastic bottles and 24 glass bottles. Any bottles that someone happens to leave behind on the street or in a park are snapped up by someone who returns them for the deposit money. Palpa’s turnover amounts to about 80 million euros, generated from material sales, recycling fees and charges for nonreturnable packaging.

In other Nordic Countries, beverage packages are recycled with the help of a national and general deposit-based system, as in Finland. Return rates are also high. Now a new EU Directive threatens Finland’s bottle return system that works very well. A new EU directive aimed at tackling plastic waste may lead to major changes to Finland’s bottle return system, according to Palpa, the company responsible for the collection, recycling and reuse of beverage packages. The directive requires that caps are connected to bottles at all stages of the product life cycle.

In USA there was some recycling activities also. It was time when CarbonLITE Industries recycled more than 2 billion PET bottles into food-grade post-consumer PET was one of the largest producers of food-grade recycled PET in the world. Then it went to bankruptcy in spring 2021.

Links:

https://hackaday.com/2022/01/15/recycling-soda-bottles-into-filament-to-print-smaller-soda-bottles/

https://www.is.fi/taloussanomat/art-2000009098655.html

https://www.muovikuuluukiertoon.fi/kierratysvinkit/

https://www.hsy.fi/jatteet-ja-kierratys/jateopas/jatteet/muovipakkaus/

https://finland.fi/life-society/circular-economy-success-finlands-recycling-programme-keeps-bottles-and-cans-off-the-streets/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET_bottle_recycling

https://finland.fi/life-society/circular-economy-success-finlands-recycling-programme-keeps-bottles-and-cans-off-the-streets/

https://www.palpa.fi/beverage-container-recycling/deposit-refund-system/

https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2019/05/02/kirkas-muovipullo-voi-kiertaa-ikuisesti-varilliset-pullot-eivat-kierra-samalla

https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/eu_directive_threatens_finlands_bottle_return_system/11062302

https://finland.fi/life-society/finnish-families-get-to-grips-with-trash/

https://www.palpa.fi/beverage-container-recycling/deposit-refund-system/

https://www.infofinland.fi/en/living-in-finland/housing/waste-management-and-recycling

https://www.lt.fi/en/media/bulletins/finland-cutting-edge-of-modern-plastic-recycling

https://earth911.com/business-policy/recycling-plastic-bottles-myths/

https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2019/05/02/kirkas-muovipullo-voi-kiertaa-ikuisesti-varilliset-pullot-eivat-kierra-samalla

https://www.hartwall.fi/vastuullisuus/nain-pullojen-muovi-kiertaa/

https://uusiomuovi.fi/pakkaus-kiertaa/uusiomuovista-on-moneksi/pramia-plastic/

https://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/uutiset/muovipullo-kiertaa-nyt-materiaalina/e35ec694-57ea-3921-847e-04eb7009cefa

https://www.talouselama.fi/uutiset/kertapullo-kiertaa-raaka-aineeksi/10d28298-e466-3478-acc8-c8685c83aea5

https://www.infofinland.fi/en/housing/waste-and-recycling

https://www.sitra.fi/en/cases/deposit-based-recycling-system-drinks-packaging/

Under the RoHS Directive, in the course of 2023 the production and sale of new fluorescent lighting shall be prohibited within the European Union. From the first of September 2023, T5 and T8 fluorescent tubes will be phased out altogether also in UK.

T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps will be off the market starting from 24 August 2023. In fluorescent lighting the RoHS initiative targets mercury, a common and hazardous substance in linear fluorescent tubes and lamps. Ongoing use of fluorescent will not be illegal, but the sale of new general illumination tubes and lamps will be.

Today, T8 and T5 fluorescent tubes are easily replaced by energy-efficient and environmentally friendly LED light source. The fluorescent freeze-out could bring a revenue boon for LED vendors lasting several years.

The ban introduces the new Single Lighting Regulation 2019/2020 (SLR) and the Energy Label Regulation 2019/2015 (ELR) that covers efficiency and lighting quality of lighting. The SLR no longer distinguishes between lamps, modules and luminaires: instead, it refers only to light sources.

There are also bans in USA. The production and sale of incandescent light bulbs have officially been banned in the United States because of their low energy efficiency. As of August 1, you can no longer purchase incandescent light bulbs, nor are they being manufactured in the United States. This ban also applies to Halogen bulbs and it’s possible that by 2025, Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) will also be phased out under the Biden administration’s new standards.2.8.2023 With the sale of incandescent lightbulbs effectively banned in the US, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, or CFLs, are next on the chopping block. From September 2023 a range of halogen, fluorescent and low-performing LED bulbs will be removed from sale. The White House is looking to phase out CFLs by 2025. But some states aren’t waiting that long.

Sources and links to more information:

https://lumenradio.com/stories/eu-ban-on-fluorescent-lighting-are-you-prepared/

T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps will be off the market starting from 24 August 2023.
https://valtavalo.fi/en/yritys/tiedotteet/fluorescent-tubes-to-be-phased-out-in-the-eu/

The amendments were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 24 February 2022.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32022L0284&from=FI

https://www.projectnekton.com/en/information/eu-ban-on-fluorescent-lamps/

https://www.ledsmagazine.com/architectural-lighting/article/14290910/attention-end-users-europe-is-banning-fluorescent-lighting

What is the EU directive for fluorescent lamps?
https://www.projectnekton.com/en/information/eu-ban-on-fluorescent-lamps/

Are fluorescent lights banned in September 2023?
https://www.sparksdirect.co.uk/blog/fluorescent-lamps-tubes-phased-out-september-2023

What light bulbs will be banned in 2023?
https://reviewed.usatoday.com/home-outdoors/features/incandescent-light-bulb-ban-2023-where-to-buy-alternatives

https://www.cnet.com/home/kitchen-and-household/are-compact-fluorescent-lightbulbs-being-banned/

https://www.cbsnews.com/essentials/best-light-bulbs-replace-incandescent-bulbs/

What are the lighting regulations for 2023?
https://professional-electrician.com/features/embrace-new-lighting-regulations-to-power-superior-user-experiences-lutron/

The aim is to speed up the switch to electric vehicles and combat climate change.
“This deal is good news for car drivers… new zero-emission cars will become cheaper, making them more affordable and more accessible to everyone,” Parliament’s lead negotiator Jan Huitema said.
The European Parliament said the deal is a “clear signal ahead of the UN COP27 Climate Change Conference that the EU is serious about adopting concrete laws to reach the more ambitious targets set out in the EU Climate Law”.
Greenpeace said the 2035 deadline is too late to limit global warming to below 1.5C (2.7F).

Sources:

EU reaches deal on law banning sale of new fuel-powered cars starting 2035
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20221028-eu-reaches-deal-on-law-that-will-ban-sale-of-new-fuel-powered-cars-starting-2035

EU approves effective ban on new fossil fuel cars from 2035
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/eu-approves-effective-ban-new-fossil-fuel-cars-2035-2022-10-27/

EU reaches deal to ban sale of new combustion-engine cars by 2035
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/28/eu-reaches-deal-to-ban-sale-of-new-combustion-engine-cars-by-2035

We see how Finland’s deposit system for bottles and cans achieves a recycling rate of more than 90 percent, and how city administrators and event organisers supplement the system with their own resourceful programmes.

Finland’s system for returning beverage containers started in the 1950s, and today almost every bottle and can is recycled. Convenience is the cornerstone of the system’s success.

Finnish residents returned more than two billion bottles and cans in 2020, 93 percent of the total amount purchased in the country. The factors that make this possible include automated bottle-return machines developed decades ago and the expansion of the system to include plastic bottles in the 2000s.

The EU directive on single-use plastics has focused additional attention on bottle recycling and sustainability.

Recycling bottles and cans conserves energy and raw materials, and reduces litter in cities and wilderness areas. Beverage containers become part of the circular economy as their materials are recycled into new containers or reused in other products.

Any bottles that someone happens to leave behind on the street or in a park are snapped up by someone who returns them for the deposit money.

This article gives you some perspective to think deeper than just reading the claims on news headlines.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has unleashed their Special Report on the impact of global warming reaching 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
“This IPCC report is set to outline a rescue plan for humanity,”
“1.5°C is the new 2°C,”
If we stick to Paris Climate Agreement commitments, we could still see a global warming of about 3°C by 2100.

The technology may allow for lower PV system installation costs ($3 per watt) and lower electricity production costs ($0.08–$0.10 cents per kilowatt-hour).

Finland’s air quality is better than that of any other country on earth, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation published by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Monitoring stations suggest that there are some 6 microgrammes of small particles per cubic metre of air in Finland, the lowest figure recorded worldwide.

Seven billion people, over 95 percent of the world’s population, are breathing air that contains unhealthy levels of pollution. 60 percent of the world is living in areas that don’t even meet the most basic standards of air quality.

The findings come from the State of Global Air 2018 (PDF), an annual assessment by the Health Effects Institute (HEI).