The “Green IT and Green AI” guideline compiles recommendations for reducing the environmental impact of digital systems across various target groups in companies, public institutions, and research facilities. It presents practical measures and links to tools for minimizing environmental impacts, such as energy and resource consumption, in five components: digital services, data centers, networks, software, and hardware, as well as in the field of artificial intelligence. The measures range from recycling and energy-saving strategies to sufficiency-oriented approaches to AI. Developed by RIFS at GFZ in collaboration with partners from science and industry as part of the GreenTech Innovation Competition, the guideline invites readers to dive further into the topics of Green IT and Green AI and take first steps toward practical implementation. This presentation introduces the guideline and invites discussions on a more sustainable digital transformation.
Digital systems generate significant environmental impacts throughout their life cycle—from hardware production involving raw material extraction, industrial manufacturing, and global delivery routes, to electricity consumption during software use, and the energy and resources required to operate networks and data centers. Moreover, the deployment of digital technologies leads to new products and services, which can create both positive and negative environmental effects, for example through increasingly automated production processes and the growth of online commerce.
The science-based, practice-oriented guideline “Green IT and Green AI” addresses these challenges with a systemic approach. It is structured around five core digital system components—hardware, software, networks, data centers, and digital services—along with the complementary field of artificial intelligence. For each, the guideline provides specific measures, indicators, and resources for reducing the environmental impacts of digital systems. The recommendations target several stakeholder groups: purchasers, users, and political decision-makers. These include, for instance, IT departments, employees across organizations, as well as public authorities and elected representatives.
The guideline aims to help organizations—such as public institutions, companies, and research facilities—identify and minimize the environmental impact of their IT. It offers a clear overview of technical and organizational measures across the system components. For example, in digital services, the guideline outlines how services can be developed and used more effectively for ecological purposes. In hardware, refurbishment and modularization, for example, are recommended to reduce environmental impacts. In software, efficient coding and data hygiene can help save computing power and energy. The sustainability of AI can also be enhanced, for example through sufficiency considerations – asking the question of whether AI systems are the best solutions to any given problem. Each system component is illustrated with one or two practical examples of how organizations are already implementing aspects of green IT.
An integrated socio-technical perspective of digital systems, combined with the linking of assessment tools, procurement guidelines, and further resources, makes the guide comprehensive and compatible with existing sustainability approaches. In our presentation, we will provide practitioners and researchers with an overview of the guideline. The subsequent discussion will offer space for questions and feedback on the guideline. We look forward to the exchange!
Background: The guide was developed by RIFS at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam within the “GreenTech Innovation Competition” program (2023-2026) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, in collaboration with numerous stakeholders from science and industry between 2024 and 2025. The program funds 21 projects from all over Germany focusing on three aspects of green and digital innovation: the sustainability of digital technologies, sustainability through digital technologies, and measuring sustainability with digital technologies.