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Determining the CO2 impact of software over its entire life cycle.
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Compliance with international standards ISO 14040/44
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Identification of potential improvements to reduce climate impact
Norderstedt, November 2, 2023 - Digital technologies can help companies reduce their CO2 emissions and thus contribute to climate protection goals. At the same time, however, according to a study by McKinsey, IT itself is responsible for around 4 percent of global CO2 emissions, and the figure is rising. Optimizing IT technologies is critical to minimizing the environmental footprint of the digital world. Legislation, such as the EU taxonomy, requires companies to prove that the emissions caused by the use of software do not offset the CO2 savings achieved.
To help companies meet their climate goals, Lufthansa Industry Solutions (LHIND) now offers its customers the option of conducting a Software Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA). This is a procedure for measuring the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of software over its entire life cycle.
For the first time, the Lufthansa subsidiary conducted an SLCA for software and determined the potential climate impact associated with the development, installation, use and uninstallation of a customized software solution that is operated in the cloud. This study was reviewed by the independent expert organization DEKRA and confirmed to be in compliance with the international standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 for determining the environmental impact of products.
To ensure the accuracy of the SLCA measurements, LHIND uses a dedicated measurement environment in which the tested software is analyzed for power consumption under various conditions. The standard usage scenarios used are realistic and reflect the actual usage of the software. In addition, data from all phases of the software lifecycle are included, including development and the entire lifecycle of the required hardware, to ensure a comprehensive view.
"As an IT service provider, our mission is to help our customers achieve climate-friendly solutions. We are committed to determining the CO2e emissions of software products over their entire lifecycle in order to create transparency and identify opportunities to reduce their climate impact," said Moritz Röder, Associate Director Supply Chain Management & Sustainability at LHIND. "This is also becoming increasingly important in light of stricter environmental regulations, as the cost of emission rights is expected to continue to rise."