Policy & Research
Bridging the gap between technical expertise and policy action. We track emerging legislation, engage in public consultations, and produce research that helps policymakers and practitioners navigate the evolving landscape of sustainable software.
Not lobbying — convening, clarifying, and educating
The Policy Working Group takes a deliberately nonpartisan approach. Rather than traditional lobbying, we focus on translating deep technical expertise into accessible insights that inform better policy decisions around software sustainability. Our work is guided by the UN Global Compact Guide for Responsible Corporate Engagement in Climate Policy.
Leadership
The Policy Working Group is chaired by Chris Adams. Research is led by Joseph Cook.
Chris Adams
Chair, Policy Working Group
Director of Technology and Policy, Green Web Foundation
Joseph Cook
Head of Research
Head of Research, Green Software Foundation
Policy Radar
Knowing which laws are coming and when to engage in the policymaking process is half of the battle. The Policy Radar provides an overview of upcoming policy events — open consultations, new active and passed laws — covering affected territories, relevant areas in green software, deadlines, ways to get involved, and how regulations may affect specific groups.
Policy Engagement
We actively participate in public consultations and policy processes, bringing the voice of the green software community to policymakers worldwide.
GHG Protocol Scope 2 Consultation
Submitted a formal response advocating for time- and location-sensitive emissions data, arguing that annual averages and broad geographic boundaries don't give software engineers the granularity they need to act.
Read our response →AI Environmental Impacts Act
GSF's first formal policy endorsement. We called for mandated studies on AI's environmental impacts, an AI Environmental Impacts Consortium, and a voluntary reporting framework for AI developers.
Read our endorsement →NY Corporate Climate Accountability Act
Coordinated responses to the New York Senate's proposed legislation on corporate climate accountability, bringing technical expertise to inform the legislative process.
Read about our engagement →European Green Digital Coalition
Engaging with the EGDC to align green software standards with European digital sustainability policy and the EU's broader environmental objectives.
Read about our engagement →UK Government Digital Sustainability Alliance
The GSF joined the UK GDSA to support the UK government's digital sustainability goals and contribute technical expertise to UK policy development.
Read about GDSA →EU AI Act
Analysing the implications of the first binding regulation on AI globally, with insights from the Green AI Committee on what it means for sustainable software development.
Read our analysis →Our Engagement Principles
Aligned with the UN Global Compact Guide for Responsible Corporate Engagement in Climate Policy, the Policy Working Group operates under five core principles.
Legitimacy
Engaging through transparent, evidence-based processes that reflect the consensus of our membership.
Opportunity
Identifying and acting on windows for meaningful input before regulations are finalised.
Consistency
Ensuring our positions align with our mission and the broader goals of environmental sustainability.
Transparency
Making our policy positions, consultation responses, and engagement activities publicly available.
Accountability
Tracking and reporting on our engagement activities and their outcomes to our membership.
Partnerships & Collaborations
We work with leading organisations to amplify the impact of green software policy and research.
W3C
Collaborating with the World Wide Web Consortium to advance sustainability standards for the web.
Read about the partnershipSustainableArchitectures.org (IASA)
Partnering to advance sustainability in enterprise architecture and software design practices.
Read about the partnershipSustainableIT.org
Joint initiatives to drive sustainable IT adoption across organisations worldwide.
Read about the partnershipUK GDSA
Supporting the UK Government Digital Sustainability Alliance's digital sustainability goals.
Read about joining GDSABritish Computer Society
Working together to promote green software practices within the UK's chartered institute for IT.
Research
Our research programme produces evidence-based publications that inform both policy decisions and industry practice.
Ratified November 2025
AI Environmental Assessments
The foundation's key research publication examining the environmental impact of AI systems, providing frameworks for assessing and reducing the carbon footprint of AI workloads.
Read the research →Position Paper
Green AI Position Paper
Defining Green AI, assessing its environmental impacts across the AI lifecycle, and outlining key actions for AI sustainability.
Read the position paper →Academic Research
SCI for Foundation Models (Texas State University)
GSF-funded study by Texas State University evaluating the software carbon intensity of AI foundation models, confirming the SCI as an effective metric for measuring the carbon impact of software.
Read about the study →Whitepaper
Carbon-Aware Computing (UBS & Microsoft)
The first enterprise-scale implementation of carbon-aware computing using the SCI specification and Carbon Aware SDK, demonstrating the ability to avoid multiple metric tons of CO2eq annually.
Read the whitepaper →Policy & Research Articles
The latest thinking from the green software community on policy, regulation, and research.
Why the GSF Is Participating in the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Consultation
Learn why the GSF is participating in the GHG Protocol Scope 2 consultation and how better carbon accounting standards enable emissions reductions.
The Green Software Foundation and SustainableArchitectures.org Partner to Advance Sustainable Digital Architecture and Green Software Practices
The Green Software Foundation and SustainableArchitectures.org are proud to announce a strategic partnership to advance knowledge-sharing and collaboration between their global communities.
The Accountability Gap: Who Should Own Software’s Environmental Impact?
At Green IO Paris, we're asking 800+ technology experts who has the power to reduce software's environmental impact, using our consensus-building process to find answers.
The Green Software Foundation Joins the UK Government Digital Sustainability Alliance (GDSA) to Shape Industry Standards
We're excited to announce a new partnership that brings green software expertise to UK government digital strategy. Learn how the GSF and GDSA are working togther.
The Green Software Foundation and World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Collaborate to Advance Adoption of Web Sustainability Measurement
The Green Software Foundation and World Wide Web Consortium proudly announce a startegic collaboration to advance and standardize how we measure website carbon emissions.
Mission Statement Update: GSF’s Policy Working Group Defines its Path Forward
The GSF's Policy Working Group aims to translate technical sustainability expertise into accessible information for regulators. Learn more about our mission.
Leadership Update: Aya Saed Elected Co-Chair of the Policy Working Group
The GSF is thrilled to announce the election of Aya Saed, Director of AI Policy and Strategy at Scope3, as Co-Chair of the Policy Working Group. Aya joins Chris Adams in leading efforts to align policy, practice, and sustainability in green software development.
Celebrating the Ratification of the Policy Radar
We’re proud to announce the ratification of the Policy Radar, marking a key step forward in our ongoing work to align policy, practice, and sustainability in the digital space. In this article, we share more about the project.
The EU AI Act: Insights from the Green AI Committee
A few member representatives on the recently formed Green AI Committee share their thoughts on the publication of the EU AI Act and what it can mean for greening AI.
Green Software Foundation and SustainableIT.org Partner to Advance Global Sustainability through Sustainable Software Development
The Green Software Foundation and SustainableIT.org proudly announce a strategic partnership to advance knowledge-sharing between their global membership communities to empower technology leaders in accelerating their business sustainability transformation.
The GSF Endorses the AI Environmental Impacts Act
How the AI Environmental Impacts Act could foster a culture of greening software and support green software projects.
Is there a wave of green software legislation and standards coming our way?
Find out about some of the latest government policies, institutional actions, reporting and standards affecting green software.
Carbon-Aware Computing Whitepaper - How UBS succeeded in measuring and reducing carbon emissions of their core risk platform
The first enterprise-scale implementation of carbon-aware computing using the software carbon intensity (SCI) specification and carbon-aware-sdk is capable of avoiding multiple metric tons of CO2eq from entering the atmosphere -- every year.
Texas State University deems GSF SCI an effective metric to evaluate the carbon impact of software
The Texas State University has just released its report on a study evaluating software carbon intensity of foundation models. Among other findings, the study confirms that the SCI is suitable for effectively measuring the carbon impact of software.