How to Explain Green Software to Normal People

Host Chris Adams speaks with James Martin about how to communicate the environmental impact of software to a general audience. Drawing on his background in journalism and sustainability communications, James shares strategies for translating complex digital sustainability issues into accessible narratives, explains why AI's growing resource demands require scrutiny, and highlights France’s leadership in frugal AI policy and standards. From impact calculators to debunking greenwashing, this episode unpacks how informed storytelling can drive responsible tech choices. Learn more about our people: Chris Adams: LinkedIn | GitHub | Website James Martin: LinkedIn | Website

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News: Environmental Footprint Calculator | Scaleway [14:19] AI on a diet: how to apply frugal AI standards? - Schneider Electric Blog [26:03] Frugal AI Challenge | Hugging Face [33:33] Greening digital companies: Monitoring emissions and climate commitments

Resources: Why Cloud Zombies Are Destroying the Planet | Holly Cummins [14:47] European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) [21:22] EcoLogits [21:54] Empire of AI - Wikipedia [29:49] Hype, Sustainability, and the Price of the Bigger-is-Better Paradigm in AI | Sasha Luccioni et al. [30:38] Sam Altman (@sama) on X [31:58] Référentiel général d'écoconception de services numériques (RGESN) - 2024 [37:06] Frugal AI

If you enjoyed this episode then please either: Follow, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts Follow and rate on Spotify Watch our videos on The Green Software Foundation YouTube Channel! Connect with us on Twitter, Github and LinkedIn! TRANSCRIPT BELOW: James Martin: When I hear the term AI for Good, which we hear a lot of at the moment, I would say that I would challenge that and I would encourage people to challenge that too by saying "are sure this AI is for good? Are you sure this tech is for good? Are you sure that the good that it does, far outweighs the potential harm that it has?" Because it's not always the case. A lot of the AI for good examples see at the moment are just, they can't be backed with scientific data at all. And that comes back to another of my points. If you can't prove that it's for good, then it's not, and it's probably greenwashing. Chris Adams: Hello, and welcome to Environment Variables, brought to you by the Green Software Foundation. In each episode, we discuss the latest news and events surrounding green software. On our show, you can expect candid conversations with top experts in their field who have a passion for how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of software. I'm your host, Chris Adams. Welcome to Environment Variables, where we bring you the latest news and updates from the Board of Sustainable Software Development. I'm your host, Chris Adams. Our guest today is James Martin, a content and communications expert who has spent years translating complex text strategies into compelling narratives that drive change. From leading communications with a special focus on sustainability at Scaleway, to founding BetterTech.blog, James has been at the forefront of making green tech more actionable and accessible. He's spoken at major climate and tech events, most recently ChangeNOW. He's written a comprehensive white paper on green IT, and played a key role in Gen AI Impact a French NGO working to measure the impact of AI. And also he's a Green Software Foundation champion. So, James, thank you so much for joining the podcast. Really lovely to see you again after we last crossed paths in, I guess Paris, I think. Maybe I've tried to introduce you a little bit, but I figure there's maybe some things you might wanna talk about as well. So, can I give you the floor to just like introduce yourself and, talk a little bit about yourself? James Martin: Yeah, thanks very much, Chris. First and foremost, I just wanted to say I'm really happy to, be o