Objective
Assess the state of sustainability & climate action within the realm of open-source.
Key Results
- A report highlighting 3 areas: Is there an awareness for the environmental impact of open-source projects? How is the environmental impact being measured and managed? What actions are being taken on an individual, project and foundation level to set targets & mitigate the impact?
- An article providing thought & analysis on the state and how to improve it.
- An overview of key decision makers who have the power to drive change (set targets, demand measurements, create action to mitigate) and who should be made aware.
Methodology
A survey will be constructed using a form that poses open-ended questions to provoke conversation and, ultimately, action concerning the environmental footprint (e.g. hardware resources, energy-usage, etc.) of open-source software and how it can be measured. The target audience of the survey will be members of foundation management boards as well as contributors to open-source projects. The responses will then be collated and analysed.
Survey Questions
- Who do you see as the main decision-makers within the open-source community?
- How can open-source software help combat climate change?
- Do the open-source projects or foundations you are currently involved with as a contributor, maintainer or committer measure their resource use or environmental impact? If so, are there set sustainability targets?
- Have you observed any measures being discussed or implemented in the open-source community to mitigate the environmental impact & resource use of open-source projects?
- What changes would you like to see within the open-source community in relation to the climate crisis & sustainability?