Software eco-design: methods to reduce the digital footprint

Digital is a heavyweight industry. Software eco-design is now emerging as a concrete response to the environmental impact of digital technology. Today, the digital sector accounts for between 3 and 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, far more than civil aviation, responsible for about 2.5% of emissions according to researchers at Chemins de transition at the Université de Montréal. Who would have thought that a simple click, an email sent, or a video watched could carry an environmental cost? And yet the digital industry, far from being immaterial, is a voracious consumer of resources.

So how do we reconcile technological innovation with respect for our planet? The answer may lie in an approach that rethinks how we build our digital tools to make them leaner and more sustainable.

What is software eco-design ?

Software eco-design is the practice of embedding sustainable development principles from the very first stages of software design. It’s not just about “greening” an existing product, it’s about designing the application end to end to minimize its environmental and social impact.

It’s a proactive approach that aims to reduce energy use, carbon footprint, and material resource consumption throughout the software’s life cycle, from writing the code to hosting, including user experience and updates.

Software eco-design: the digital equivalent of LEED

Imagine an architect who, in addition to a building’s beauty and functionality, considers energy management, material choices, and end-of-life planning from the very first sketches. That’s exactly what LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification does in the construction industry.

In Quebec, LEED is managed by the Canada Green Building Council (CAGBC), which adapts the system to Canada’s climatic and regulatory context. With four certification levels, this framework assesses energy efficiency, indoor air quality, water use, and material selection. The Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) already applies it to dozens of public buildings: courthouses, hospitals, seniors’ homes, and high schools.

Software eco-design applies that same logic to the world of code. Just as LEED sets measurable criteria for buildings, the RGESN (Référentiel Général d’Écoconception des Services Numériques) establishes 78 criteria across 9 categories (strategy, architecture, UX/UI, frontend, backend, hosting, algorithms, etc.) to guide development teams toward leaner applications.

Why software eco-design has become essential

Digital’s environmental impact: key figures to know

Data centres run 24/7. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), in 2022 they accounted for about 1 to 1.5% of global electricity consumption. With the boom in AI, some scenarios project this could reach 3% of global electricity demand by 2030. And since 2010, global internet traffic has increased 25-fold, driving up needs for computing, storage, and infrastructure.

One often-overlooked figure: water. Google’s 15 data centres in the United States alone used 3.4 billion litres of net water in 2021, solely for server cooling. The issue isn’t limited to electricity.

And on the web side, the average weight of a web page increased by a factor of 191 between 1995 and 2024. Every unnecessary request, every uncompressed image, every superfluous JavaScript library has a real cost in energy, memory, and network usage.

In Quebec: a nuanced situation, but not without challenges

Quebec enjoys a major advantage: Hydro-Québec generates more than 99.8% of its electricity from renewable sources. That positions the province as a top destination for data centres, which can emit up to 41,000 fewer tonnes of GHGs than equivalent facilities in Virginia, where electricity comes 52% from fossil fuels.

But that doesn’t mean we should be complacent. The Commission de l’éthique en science et en technologie (CEST) published an opinion in 2024 containing 16 recommendations to the Quebec government, including recognizing the limits of digitization as a climate strategy and regulating tech companies on transparency around their environmental footprint. In parallel, since 2023, a provincial law has protected consumers against planned obsolescence, a first step toward a culture of software sustainability.

Regulation and software eco-design: what’s changing

In Europe, the European Commission already suggests that any data centre over 1 MW carry out a cost-benefit analysis to assess whether its excess heat can supply district heating networks. And according to the Danish data centre industry, 63% of operators plan to recover and reuse their waste heat in the near future.

Anticipating these changes and adopting eco-design practices means preparing for a future where digital sobriety is no longer an option, but a standard.

How to design more sustainable software: best practices

Optimize algorithms and architecture

This is the core of eco-design. Lighter, more efficient code means less computing power required, and therefore less energy consumed. That includes:

• Reducing algorithmic complexity: choosing algorithms that require fewer resources to perform a given task.

• Optimizing database queries: poorly designed queries can significantly increase server load.

• Minimizing data transfers: compressing information and sending only what’s necessary.

• Avoiding unnecessary features: every feature has an energy cost. Simplifying often means improving efficiency.

• Limiting third-party dependencies: third-party services (embedded Google Maps, social media widgets) multiply requests. A simple alternative: use a clickable static image linking to the URL, or replace Google Maps with OpenStreetMap.

Digital footprint measurement tools can assign a score to a web page by evaluating rendering complexity and the number of requests generated, directly reflecting the energy optimization required to display it. Implementing a continuous improvement process with measurable performance thresholds makes it possible to turn intent into concrete, repeatable actions.

Green hosting: a pillar of software eco-design

Even the most optimized software still consumes energy through hosting. Choosing a provider that uses renewable energy sources is a crucial step. Hosting data closer to users also reduces the distance information travels, minimizing the energy consumption of networks.

Hydro-Québec plays an active role here: by attracting data centres to Quebec through clean energy and some of the lowest rates in North America, the province helps green global internet traffic. Quebec’s climate and abundant cool water also make server cooling easier, generating significant energy savings for operators.

Data centre waste heat: from waste to resource

This is one of the most striking examples of large-scale digital sobriety. Heat produced by servers is no longer necessarily waste, it can become a real energy source to heat residential buildings.

But this shift is no longer just conceptual. Several organizations have already embedded this logic into large-scale, real-world projects.

Around the world, tech giants are testing and deploying heat recovery systems that are redefining the role of digital infrastructure in our cities.

Here are a few standout initiatives that illustrate this transition:

Microsoft - Denmark (Høje-Taastrup)

Microsoft’s data centre in Høje-Taastrup was designed from the outset to recover excess heat. Using an air-to-liquid heat exchanger and heat pumps installed by district heating operator VEKS, the heat is redistributed to about 6,000 local households. Initial deliveries began during the 2025–2026 heating season.

Meta - Denmark (Odense)

In a similar approach, Meta implemented a system as early as 2020 that recovers about 215,000 MWh of energy per year. This heat supplies more than 12,000 households and directly supports the local energy transition, notably by reducing reliance on coal.

Google - Finland (Hamina)

Google is taking energy integration even further. Its Hamina data centre, powered 97% by decarbonized sources, will supply heat covering up to 80% of the local network’s needs by late 2025. It’s a model where technological performance and environmental impact align.

While these projects differ in how they’re implemented, they all follow the same logic: rethinking digital infrastructure as part of the energy system.
In other words, data centre heat is no longer just a technical by-product. It becomes a strategic resource, at the heart of large-scale eco-design approaches.

AI and eco-design: a unique challenge

Artificial intelligence is a revolution, but it brings a major environmental challenge. Training AI models, especially large language models (LLMs), is extremely resource-intensive. To give a concrete sense of the issue: each query sent to a tool like ChatGPT uses about 0.14 kWh of electricity, roughly equivalent to running 14 LED bulbs for an hour. Multiplied by billions of daily interactions, the impact becomes significant.

Source : World Economic Forum – Artificial Intelligence’s Energy Paradox, 2025

In Quebec, 33% of adults used ChatGPT in 2024, up from 20% in 2023, a 65% increase in one year. And according to projections cited by Université Laval, data centre electricity consumption in 2026 could be equivalent to Japan’s entire annual consumption.

Source : NETendances 2024 / Université Laval – Journées du numérique responsable

Best practices for leaner AI

• Use smaller, more efficient models when possible, rather than systematically relying on the most powerful models.

• Pool resources: share trained models instead of retraining them every time.

• Prioritize local inference: run some computations on the user’s device when appropriate.

• Optimize inputs/outputs: reducing the volume of tokens processed directly improves energy use.

• Prefer classic algorithms when AI isn’t necessary. AI isn’t always the right solution.

In France, a “Référentiel général pour l’IA frugale” was launched in June 2024, a pioneering initiative to guide AI development from an energy standpoint. There is not yet an official equivalent in Quebec, but in 2024 the CEST recommended that the Quebec government move in this direction.

Source : natural-net.fr – Digital sobriety 2025 / CEST – Opinion, October 2024

Steps in a rigorous approach

Implementing a software eco-design approach requires a structured method, similar to what you’d apply to obtain LEED certification in construction. Here are the main steps:

1. Initial assessment: Understand the current environmental impact of your applications. Where is the biggest consumption happening? Several digital footprint measurement tools can analyze web interfaces, server consumption, or the overall footprint of a service.

2. Goal setting: Set measurable targets: reduce energy consumption by X%, improve compatibility with older devices, reduce average page weight.

3. Life cycle assessment (LCA): Identify the software life-cycle stages with the greatest impact, from design to end-of-life. Remember: “when you analyze the life cycle, it’s really the production of the device that has the greatest impact on its emissions” (Martin Deron, Chemins de transition).

4. Integrating principles: Apply best practices for code, architecture, and hosting optimization right from the design phase. Avoid making an application more complex without a real reason.

5. Measurement and monitoring: Put energy performance indicators in place and monitor them over time, especially before each release to production.

6. Communication and awareness: Involve all teams, from developers to project managers, and communicate progress to stakeholders.

7. Continuous improvement: Eco-design is an iterative process. Regular reviews and new technologies continually open up new optimization opportunities.

BDC also offers a guide on the key steps in an eco-design approach, which can serve as a foundation for a software application.

Conclusion: software eco-design is an investment, not a constraint

Software eco-design is no longer just a trend, it’s a necessity. And like any solid engineering practice, it’s also an opportunity. Waste-heat recovery projects in Denmark and Finland show that the same digital infrastructures that consume energy can also create environmental value when they’re well designed.

In Quebec, we have unique strengths: nearly fully renewable hydroelectricity, a climate that supports efficient server cooling, and an engaged tech community. Software eco-design is the natural extension of this sustainability ambition.

Just as LEED transformed the construction industry by making environmental performance measurable and valuable, RGESN and eco-design practices can transform our digital industry, creating software that is leaner, faster, more durable, and more respectful of our planet’s resources.

It’s an investment in the future, a concrete action for our planet.

If you’d like to explore how eco-design can transform your software projects, don’t hesitate to contact us. Together, let’s build sustainable solutions.

FAQ

What is software eco-design?

Software eco-design is a development approach that aims to reduce a software product’s environmental impact across its entire life cycle. It involves designing applications that use fewer resources by optimizing code, limiting unnecessary features, and reducing consumption related to CPU, memory, network usage, and hosting.

What is the RGESN?

The Référentiel Général d’Écoconception des Services Numériques (RGESN) is a framework published in France in May 2024 by the Direction interministérielle du numérique (DINUM), in partnership with ADEME and the Institut du Numérique Responsable. It offers 78 criteria across 9 categories to audit and improve the eco-design of digital services, somewhat like LEED for sustainable buildings, applied to software.

Is there an equivalent to the RGESN in Quebec?

As of April 2026, there is no official equivalent to the RGESN in Quebec or Canada. However, in 2024 the Commission de l’éthique en science et en technologie recommended strengthening environmental standards related to digital technology. Today, the RGESN remains the most comprehensive reference and can be used as a guide by Quebec teams.

What is AI’s environmental impact?

Artificial intelligence requires substantial computing resources to train and run models. A query to a model like ChatGPT uses about 0.14 kWh, around 10 times more than a Google search. At scale, this creates growing pressure on infrastructure and electricity consumption.

How do countries like Denmark and Finland reuse data centre heat?

In countries like Denmark and Finland, residual heat from data centres is recovered and boosted using heat pumps before being redistributed through district heating networks. This approach can heat thousands of homes and reduce the carbon footprint of digital infrastructure.

What are the steps to create environmentally responsible software?

Creating environmentally responsible software means building digital sobriety into design, analyzing the product life cycle, prioritizing technical optimizations, and measuring performance over time. This structured approach supports continuous improvements in efficiency and reduces environmental impact.