The Wavemakers: where IT meets sustainability

About the 4 Wavemakers topics

The Wavemakers provides teams with the means to assess and visualize a baseline of their carbon footprint, based on their code and resource usage. Our goal is to enable teams to leverage tools and training, to effectively reduce their environmental impact while fostering a culture of sustainability within the organization. We as a team, that consist of engineers, solution architects, dedicated sustainability coaches, trainers and communicators, are happy that we can contribute to Rabobank’s mission: ‘Growing a better world together’, thanks to our IT expertise.

1. Sustainability Awareness Training

To know how sustainability plays a role in one’s day-to-day work, it is important to understand what role sustainability plays in daily activities. Having the correct knowledge enables a foundation for change. To empower the sustainability change, a three-layered Sustainability Awareness Training is offered.

• The first training focuses on the definition of sustainability and the necessity to change current behavior.
• The second training dives into the specifics around the topic of Sustainable IT.
• The third training looks into the role of sustainability regarding job specific activities, ranging from Leadership to Developers.

2. Sustainable IT Assessment

The Sustainable IT Assessment is a survey-based assessment on teams and the products they develop. It provides insights to what extent eco-design practices are applied. The assessment covers multiple stages and practices of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) as well as the way of working of the team itself. The outcomes of the assessment are discussed during a results workshop where teams are provided with a personalized roadmap that gives them a clear starting point for their Sustainable IT journey.

3. EcoSonar

After understanding the basic principles of sustainability and eco-design, many developers ask us for guidance on applying these principles into their daily work. EcoSonar is a valuable solution for developers and product owners looking to make sustainability improvements within their code and applications. The software works by analyzing the code of an application and providing feedback on its environmental impact. It identifies areas where the code can be optimized to reduce resource usage, such as memory or CPU utilization, and recommends alternative approaches that are more environmentally friendly.

With this open-source tool, developers can quickly scan their source code for potential issues related to sustainability and Green Code principles. The software provides a comprehensive report on the application's carbon footprint, making it easy to identify areas where improvements can be made.

4. Carbon Insights Tool

Created internally by the Wavemakers, the Carbon Insights Tool (abbreviated as CIT) offers a comprehensive analysis of CO2 emissions associated with specific features developed by a team. When evaluating a particular feature, the CIT measures the terminal, network, and infrastructure. Additionally, it implements the energy mix of the location of the users and server. To complete the calculation, the used energy is converted to CO2. What sets the CIT apart is its bottom-up approach, providing a detailed understanding of the carbon footprint for individual features, as opposed to the more conventional top-down methods.

Embedding Sustainable IT in our Rabobank DNA is a Journey that will require time and effort. We are working hard to make waves in sustainability that will gradually make their way through our organization.