Last year, we closely examined the question of who is responsible for the sustainability of digital products. The public believes this responsibility lies with data centers — but we are convinced it is far more complex.

We created a simplified responsibility model that outlines the roles and responsibilities from the user to digital infrastructure. A central concept we introduced is the "digital resource primitives." Digital infrastructure generates a resource that software then uses to provide a digital product or service to users. This approach takes into account that computing power, storage, and networks each have their own environmental impacts and that responsibility for sustainability should be distributed accordingly.

SDIA is pursuing several ongoing initiatives to address resource consumption within software: measuring it, attributing environmental impacts, and developing the tools and methodology to quantify, report, and improve performance. The "hidden" impact of many software libraries is also being studied.

What about the digital resources themselves?

While software applications can minimize their digital resource consumption and enhance efficiency, even minimal resource consumption has an environmental impact. To truly achieve more sustainable software, we need digital resources generated sustainably from the ground up.

Currently, producers are trying to minimize their environmental impact by using certified green energy — based on the assumption that this is the only energy source used by data centers, servers, and networks. However, the use of certified green energy accounts for only a small part of the digital infrastructure's energy consumption which remains beyond their control, unless they can generate their renewable energy.

We believe this is not enough. The SDIA roadmap for sustainable digital infrastructure, which we published in 2020, clearly outlines the necessary actions for the sector to generate sustainable resources. Organizations across Europe are now implementing this roadmap.

Lack of Acceptance and Differentiation

So far, implementation has not resulted in significant product differentiation for operators and owners nor broad acceptance of more sustainable digital infrastructure. On the contrary, current plans for new data center capacities continue to follow the "traditional" model.

Meanwhile, many operators use the GHG protocol to make bold claims about carbon neutrality or being carbon-free, without considering the embedded carbon or other environmental impacts of their infrastructure. This makes it even harder for innovative operators to stand out and demonstrate to IT application developers or software providers that they offer alternative, sustainable digital resources.

A Label for Sustainable Digital Resources

In partnership with the organizations in our community, we aim to fill this gap by creating a clearly defined label for sustainable digital resources — targeted at cloud infrastructure providers and traditional web hosts (e.g., virtual machines, cloud storage, virtualized networks) that generate digital resources.

This label builds on existing frameworks and criteria. For instance, the data center housing the servers must meet criteria from BREEAM Gold, EU Code of Conduct, Blauer Engel, CEEDA, and others. Many SDIA members are already involved in developing these criteria.

However, what is missing is the integration of the various components under one roof: the data center building, electrical and mechanical equipment, network technology, the server itself, and the energy — all of which together form the infrastructure for generating digital resources.

Community-based Criteria Development — The First Draft

In collaboration with our members, we have already developed the first set of criteria. Together with our partners, we deliberately set the bar high to drive real change and challenge the market to enhance its efforts in generating sustainable digital resources.

Want to learn more or contribute your ideas? Join our "Criteria for Sustainable Cloud" (CSC) working group to collaborate and share insights. Participation is open to anyone committed to transparency and sustainability.