Digitalization offers enormous opportunities for a sustainable future, but it also contributes to an increasing energy and resource consumption. AI systems in particular are energy-intensive. Inefficiently programmed software can consume up to four times more energy than efficient software. 

In order to reduce this negative environmental impact, the focus is shifting to resource-efficient software - an area that has not yet been considered in detail in standardization. 

Standardization for green IT: resource-efficient software 

Standards create clear guidelines for a resource-efficient digital future. The idea: programs and algorithms that require less energy can be promoted through targeted standards. Resource-efficient software in particular plays a decisive role here. Even the choice of programming language can have a major impact on energy consumption. These efficiency potentials could be systematically exploited through standards. 

ISO Open Consultation: your chance to become active 

In order to identify the need for new standards, the international standards organization ISO has launched the ISO Open Consultation.   

The ISO Open Consultation is an innovative and new approach to identifying standardization needs in a new subject area. This open process offers you the opportunity to get directly involved and share your expertise in workshops. The open dialogue enables a well-founded, expectation-based assessment of standardization needs in this new cross-sectional area. 

Who can take part? 

The ISO Open Consultation is aimed at stakeholders from business, science, administration and society. If you work in the field of software, sustainability or digitalization, this is your opportunity to actively participate in shaping future standards. 

Would you like to take part? Register now 

The ISO Open Consultation lives through your commitment. In addition, the process is accompanied by three thought leaders. Anna Zagorski (UBA), Prof. Dr. Verena Majuntke (Berlin University of Applied Sciences) and Dr. Jochen Friedrich (IBM Germany) will lead the discussion and classify the results accordingly.   

Time frame 

The first workshop will take place in December and a final report should be available by May 2025. This will contain recommendations for future international standardization processes and will be passed on to the ISO committees. 

Specific next steps: 

• Call for Participation until November 11: Would you like to take part? Register now 
• Expert briefing: On November 13 + 14, all experts will be informed about the process and the next steps 
• Workshops: The three workshops will take place from 9 December to 30 January, where you can exchange ideas with other interested parties about the standardization requirements and prioritize them together. You can find the exact dates on DIN.ONE 
• Comments: In March 2025, you will then have time to comment on the resulting recommendation report 
• The final report is then expected to be presented in May 2025. 

With the ISO Open Consultation, we are shaping a digital future in which climate protection, resource conservation and technological innovation go hand in hand. Now is the time to take action and jointly develop international standards for green IT.