In a world increasingly aware of its environmental impact, Wavemakers focuses on sustainability within the field of IT. DevOps Engineer Ankit Bhimjiyani’s personal connection to the issue is what drives him to make a tangible difference. He explains how raising awareness, green coding, and demand shifting help developers and engineers implement sustainability in their work.
Ankit’s journey into sustainable IT is driven by his concern for the future. “I was born in India, and it’s hard to see my country suffering from the effects of climate change. My parents still live in Mumbai, a city that’s facing more and more extreme weather. That’s the main reason I’m participating in this initiative.”
Educating teams on sustainable IT practices
Wavemakers consists of a core team that’s supported by a virtual network of contributors. This includes engineers from various departments who collaborate on developing different tools. Ankit: “I heard about Wavemakers though my manager and decided to find out how I could help. As a DevOps engineer, I normally work on CRM processes at Rabobank, but now I get to spend a few hours every week working on Wavemakers. We aim to raise awareness by training and inspiring teams to adopt sustainable IT practices in their daily work. I help other IT teams understand the impact of the functionalities they are developing.”
“For instance, we've developed the Carbon Insights Tool, a sustainability awareness tool that can measure the CO2 emissions from software features or IT processes. Looking at CRM, for example, we can calculate the CO2 emissions for scheduling an appointment in terms of resources used — memory, infrastructure, and actual laptop usage. The data reveals the energy impact and shows where we can improve. It's all about making our IT operations as green as possible.”
Reducing energy use by green coding
Another interesting way to reduce IT’s carbon footprint is by green coding. This is a relatively new IT practice that focuses on minimizing energy consumption and reducing carbon emissions from writing and running code.
By adopting green coding practices, we're improving our systems and, at the same time, contributing to a more sustainable future."
“We're working to reduce our technical debt. It’s a simple, yet very effective practice. We go back to old code, where we optimize logic and remove unnecessary queries. For example, if you're querying a database, make sure you only fetch the data you need. Often, you don’t need to query the complete CRM database to book an appointment for a customer. A subset will suffice and uses a lot less energy. Green coding makes the codebase lean and more efficient. As a nice bonus, the efficiency boost helps to convince stakeholders of the benefits of sustainable IT.”
“Green coding really makes a difference. By adopting green coding practices, we're not only improving our systems, but also contributing to a more sustainable future. Every little change adds up, and as developers and engineers, we have a unique opportunity to make a significant impact.”
Optimizing energy usage with strategic timing
“A third way to save energy is by demand shifting. This means we carefully plan when we run our DevOps jobs. By running energy-intensive tasks during periods of low-energy demand, we can make better use of green energy. Therefore, we schedule non-critical updates during the night or on the weekend when energy usage is lower. And we turn off our test servers when we don’t use them.”
Ankit's desire to make a difference has grown over the years, and Wavemakers has further intensified this passion. Sustainability matters to him not only at work, but also at home. “I've grown increasingly aware of all the small adjustments I could make to use less energy. At home, we now only run on the dishwasher and washing machine in the middle of the night. Or when the sun is shining brightly because we have solar panels.”
Have you ever asked yourself how much energy data and technology uses?
Find out more about IT's hidden footprintChallenges for the future
Implementing sustainable IT practices isn't without its challenges. From data collection to convincing stakeholders, the journey is complex, but Ankit's insights are both practical and inspiring.
“We encourage everyone to join us in this important mission. It doesn’t matter if you're a developer, a business leader, or work in any other role; when you care about our planet, your actions can make a difference. Start small, and together we can create a more sustainable future.”
Wavemakers is not only about sustainable IT; it's also about making a lasting impact. As Ankit puts it: “The footprint of IT is expected to grow from its current almost 4% to 15% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2040. But through our collective efforts, we can turn the tide towards a greener, more sustainable future. Initiatives like Wavemakers make me cautiously optimistic.”
Sources
Millikin, M. (2018, March 6). Study projects global carbon footprint from ICT will be equivalent to half of transportation’s current level by 2040. Green Car Congres https://www.greencarcongress.com/2018/03/20180306-mcmaster.html
The Shift Project (March 2018). Environmental impacts of digital technology: 5-year trends and 5G governance. https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Environmental-impacts-of-digital-technology-5-year-trends-and-5G-governance_March2021.pdf
Green Software Foundation, Demand Shifting https://learn.greensoftware.foundation/carbon-awareness/#demand-shifting