Tell us about your interest in green software and your journey to GSF.
As a software developer since age 8, I have always found myself in technology and coding. I started my career with startups in the early days of the Internet building SaaS platforms. Later I moved to the business side, joining BCG in 2005 where I worked on pricing strategy for technology companies. I eventually found my way back to software development and am now the Global Leader for GAMMA software.
Along the way I developed a passion around the climate topic, getting involved in advancing BCG’s role in partnering with tech companies to address climate change. GAMMA software is a group of 500 plus software developers within our data science practice that develops repeatable products and components out of our client data science work. In our capacity developing transformational AI-driven solutions and products with our Fortune 500 clients, we have a terrific platform to advance the thinking on lowering the carbon impact of systems.
What do you expect to achieve by working with the GSF and in green software in general?
Having worked in software much of my career but with a deep passion about addressing climate change, I would like to have an impact on making tech as green as possible. We have the opportunity to make this industry net zero – this is not a hard-to-abate sector. But it takes measurement, awareness, and empowerment for technologists to be able to get there. As one of the areas of greatest innovation, technology will lead the way to addressing climate change. We should have our own house in order to gain the moral authority to help drive other industries to do the same.
What obstacles do you see to the cause of green software? How do you think we can overcome them?
Lack of awareness and complacency are probably our biggest obstacles. Data centers can easily buy renewable energy. Coders can write more efficient code. Tech vendors can develop more power-efficient hardware. But without common measurement and visibility and a collaborative will to improve, the focus will invariably be on inventing the next venture, algorithm or AI use case. We must make it stupidly simple to measure the climate impact of our code and we must elevate the conversation in the industry so that we all care about it.
Any other matters you would like to share with us about green software and sustainability at BCG GAMMA?
BCG GAMMA cares deeply about climate, sustainability, diversity and responsible AI. Our founder Bruce Henderson was fond of saying “Archimedes said that if he were given a long enough lever and a place to stand, he could move the world. We have a place to stand. It is BCG”. This ethos of trying to use our influence for positive change permeates the company. As a result, we have many employees that will clamber to help out on initiatives like the Green Software Foundation. In fact, we have already built a library called CodeCarbon that measures the carbon footprint of data science code. We intend to bring this energy to the Green Software Foundation.
Interviews with other Steering Committee Members of GSF
Dan Lewis-Toakley of Thougtworks
Elise Zelechowski of Thoughtworks
Jeff Sandquist of Microsoft
Jose Lopez Diminguez of Globant
Santiago Fontannarosa of Globant
Toru Shimogaki of NTT DATA
Yusuke Kobayashi of NTT DATA
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