The Green Software Foundation (GSF) is proud to announce that it has joined the UK Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA). This collaborative working group, established in 2022, brings together the UK government, its digital supply chain, academics, and third-sector organizations to drive progress on digital sustainability.
As part of this partnership, the GSF will support the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the wider UK Government in meeting commitments defined within the Greening Government ICT and Digital Services Strategy 2020-2025. In particular, it will focus on strategies, including the Greening Government Commitments, the Net Zero Pathway, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
What Joining GDSA Means for Green Software
"This partnership represents a pivotal moment where green software principles move from industry practice to government policy. By working directly with GDSA, we're helping establish how governments worldwide will measure and reduce their digital carbon footprint. When the UK government adopts these practices, it sends a powerful signal to its entire supply chain and beyond."
The partnership creates value for both organizations and the broader ecosystem.
By joining the alliance, GSF will contribute expertise to the UK Government's digital policy and expand its reach across government supply chains. GDSA will gain specialized green software expertise, proven frameworks such as the Software Carbon Intensity specification, and global credibility to accelerate progress toward Net Zero.
Through this work, we will shape government procurement standards and establish replicable best practices for both the public and private sectors, supported by two-way knowledge exchange.
“The GDSA is delighted to welcome the Green Software Foundation (GSF) into the Alliance and to draw on their expertise on green software practices into the GDSA community.”
How GSF and GDSA Will Work Together
As part of the membership, we will attend GDSA quarterly meetings and actively contribute to four working groups, each focused on critical sustainability challenges:
AI Working Group: Supporting development of the government AI Playbook and environmental cost-benefit frameworks, bringing software carbon measurement expertise to AI deployments.
Scope 3 Emissions: Aligning with AI supplier transparency challenges to bring visibility to supply chain emissions across direct and indirect suppliers.
Planetary Impact: Supporting analysis of environmental impacts, including water, materials, and energy beyond carbon.
Circular Economy: Understanding the true costs of AI hardware across its lifecycle.
Through the working groups, our members can access the ecosystems and mechanisms that support the creation of standards integrating with government requirements, help share insights to bridge knowledge gaps, and ensure measurement consistency across both the private and public sectors.
By participating in joint pilot programs, we will test GSF tools, such as the Carbon Aware SDK and Impact Framework, in government environments. Furthermore, GDSA insights will inform new public sector specifications and the development of government-specific GSF tools.
Building on Our Values
Both GSF and GDSA are committed to advancing digital sustainability through collaborative development of best practices and internationally recognized standards.
By working together, we are establishing a model for how governments can measure and reduce the environmental impact of their digital operations, creating best practices that extend from the UK government to its global supply chain and influencing how digital sustainability is approached worldwide.
Get Involved
Become a GSF Member: Align with global leaders and help shape the next generation of software sustainability standards. Your expertise can influence how governments worldwide approach digital sustainability. Join the Green Software Foundation today.
Participate in Working Groups: GSF members can contribute their expertise to GDSA initiatives, attend quarterly meetings, and help develop educational materials for the entire government supply chain. Contact [email protected] to explore contribution opportunities.
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