In a significant step towards reducing the carbon footprint associated with cloud computing, Finnish company Aiven, an open-source data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform provider, has achieved notable sustainability goals in collaboration with Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy known for its commitment to integrating strategy, design, and engineering. This partnership underscores a growing trend within the IT industry towards environmental responsibility and the strategic use of open-source technology to achieve sustainable outcomes.

The collaboration between Aiven and Thoughtworks centers on the challenge of lowering CO2 emissions within the IT sector, a pressing concern given the industry’s sizeable environmental impact. The partnership has resulted in the development of tools and strategies that enable Aiven and its customers to manage their cloud emissions more effectively. This initiative is particularly timely, as regulatory frameworks such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) increasingly mandate the disclosure of sustainability indicators by companies.

At the heart of this initiative is the Cloud Carbon Footprint, an open-source solution devised by Thoughtworks. This tool is designed to calculate CO2 emissions stemming from cloud computing activities, providing companies with vital data to inform their sustainability strategies. Thoughtworks’ expertise in sustainable software development, fortified by its leadership role in the Green Software Foundation, has been instrumental in accomplishing this goal.

Heikki Nousiainen, Co-Founder and CTO of Aiven, highlighted the importance of speed and data utilization in achieving customer success. He pointed out that the collaboration with Thoughtworks facilitates sustainable tool provision to developers worldwide, reflecting the shared commitment to open source as a vehicle for ongoing optimization and development of solutions.

One of the critical aspects of the partnership involved Thoughtworks validating Aiven’s approach to measuring and calculating cloud asset emissions. This was followed by recommendations for aligning Aiven’s methods with those of leading cloud providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud Platform, ensuring consistent and accurate emissions calculations.

By embracing open source principles, Aiven and Thoughtworks have not only advanced their sustainability objectives but have also contributed to the broader ecosystem. The transparency and availability of their findings from the Cloud Carbon Footprint project empower others to enhance the methodology further, fostering a collaborative approach to tackling environmental challenges in the cloud computing domain.

The implications of this partnership extend beyond environmental benefits. Aiven’s customers now have the capability to measure cloud emissions and energy consumption at a granular level directly through the Aiven Console or via API integration. This not only enhances transparency but also aids in decision-making processes by enabling comparisons of the environmental impact of various cloud infrastructure solutions over time.

Lisa McNally, Global Head of Sustainability at Thoughtworks and Co-chair of the Policy Working Group at the Green Software Foundation, expressed pride in the project’s contribution to a more sustainable economy. She emphasized the strategic focus on open source as a means to achieve a significant public good, particularly within the sustainability context.

This collaborative effort between Aiven and Thoughtworks illustrates a growing recognition within the tech industry of the urgent need to address its environmental impact. By leveraging open-source technology and innovative tools like the Cloud Carbon Footprint, companies are paving the way towards a more sustainable digital future.