Sustainable IT Starts with Smarter Software

How architecture, code and operational choices can dramatically reduce carbon emissions

The conversation around sustainable IT is often dominated by data centers, renewable energy and hardware efficiency. But according to Edwin Visser, Platform Development Manager at Ab Ovo, the software itself plays a much bigger role than most organizations realize.

In this Studio Ab Ovo interview, Edwin explains why sustainable IT is about far more than green electricity alone — and how software architecture, programming languages and operational choices can reduce carbon emissions on a massive scale.

“The IT sector already produces emissions comparable to aviation”

Martijn Meerman:
Today we’re not just talking about technical improvements, but also what they imply for sustainability.

Edwin Visser:
At Ab Ovo we have a huge focus on sustainability and green IT. What I wanted to discuss is how IT itself can become greener and more sustainable, but also where the carbon emissions from IT are actually coming from.

Two years ago already, the IT sector was responsible for roughly four percent of all global carbon emissions. That puts it in the same league as the aviation industry. And with the rise of AI models and large language models like ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral, that number is only increasing.

Thinking about environmentally friendly software solutions is becoming more urgent every year.

The hidden carbon footprint of IT

Most people immediately think about energy-hungry data centers when discussing IT emissions. But according to Edwin, the carbon footprint starts much earlier.

Edwin Visser:
Carbon emissions begin before a server even reaches a data center. Manufacturing and transporting hardware already creates carbon. That’s what we call embodied carbon.

Every product has a carbon footprint from manufacturing alone — phones, cars, servers, everything. In some cases, the embodied carbon is actually higher than the emissions from using the product itself.

For example, around 80% of the lifetime emissions of an iPhone 14 come from manufacturing, shipping and delivery. Only 20% comes from actual usage.

That means extending the lifespan of hardware can have a major impact.

Edwin Visser:
Instead of replacing employee laptops every four years, why not after five or six? Using devices longer significantly reduces their carbon footprint.

Why data center location matters

As cloud computing continues to grow, data centers consume increasing amounts of energy. But Edwin explains that not every data center has the same environmental impact.

Martijn Meerman:
Would it be more efficient to build data centers in colder places like Scandinavia?

Edwin Visser:
For cooling, yes. Colder climates help. But it also depends on the source of electricity.

A data center powered by renewable energy can still have a lower carbon footprint even in a warmer climate. One important factor is carbon intensity — the amount of carbon emitted per kilowatt hour.

Countries like Norway have very low carbon intensity because of renewable energy sources. The Netherlands has a much higher carbon intensity in comparison.

Choosing the right location for your data center can drastically change the carbon footprint of your software.

Software itself can be inefficient

For Edwin, the biggest opportunity lies not only in hardware or infrastructure, but in the software itself.

Edwin Visser:
Data centers only exist because software runs on them. So we asked ourselves: can software itself become more energy efficient?

One of the most surprising insights is that programming languages themselves already influence energy consumption.

Edwin Visser:
At Ab Ovo we generate optimized C code because C is among the most energy-efficient programming languages available.

There can be a factor of 70 to 80 difference in energy usage between C and Python for the exact same task.

Why older programming languages can be more sustainable

Modern programming languages are designed to improve developer productivity and make software easier to build. But that convenience comes at a cost.

Edwin Visser:
Older languages like C were developed at a time when hardware was expensive and scarce. Developers had to optimize everything.

Modern languages are easier for humans to read and faster to develop in, but they require extra translation layers before a computer can execute them. That means the chip has to work harder and consume more energy.

For years, that trade-off made sense because hardware and energy seemed abundant. Today, sustainability forces us to rethink that approach.

Combining modern development with efficient code

At Ab Ovo, the challenge became clear: how do you combine modern software development with highly energy-efficient code?

Edwin Visser:
With our Eco Logic Platform, developers work with modern, platform-independent business models while our factory automatically generates optimized C code in the background.

That gives us the best of both worlds: fast development and highly efficient software.

According to Edwin, combining operational efficiency with software efficiency can reduce carbon emissions up to a thousandfold.

Measuring software on a function level

Ab Ovo also built measurement systems into its platform to identify where energy is being wasted.

Edwin Visser:
We can measure energy consumption on a function level — every button click, every process and every interface call.

That allows us to identify hotspots inside software systems.

Sometimes the improvements are surprisingly simple.

Edwin Visser:
At one customer, we discovered a function running 86,000 times per day unnecessarily. By reconfiguring it, CPU usage for that function dropped by 90%.

“Light switch ops”: simply turning things off

One of the biggest sustainability opportunities turned out to be remarkably straightforward.

Edwin Visser:
At home, we turn off lights when we leave a room. In IT, however, applications and servers often continue running 24/7 even when nobody uses them.

We call this “light switch ops.”

At Ab Ovo, environments are now turned off by default unless someone explicitly needs them running. That immediately reduced processing loads and even postponed the need to purchase new servers.

Sustainable IT starts with architecture, design and code

For Edwin, the conclusion is clear.

Edwin Visser:
Sustainable IT is not one single solution. It is a combination of architecture, design, operational choices and efficient code.

Use hardware longer.
Choose data center locations wisely.
Reduce unnecessary workloads.
Write smarter software.

Every layer matters.

Because the future of sustainable IT will not only be determined by greener hardware or renewable energy, but also by the intelligence and efficiency of the software we create.