The document summarizes the work of KDE Eco in promoting energy efficiency in software. It discusses achievements like establishing an energy measurement lab and certifying the Okular PDF reader as the first eco-certified computer program. Goals for the future include developing measurement tools and guidelines, expanding outreach efforts, and continuing to improve KDE code and apps to reduce energy usage. The overall aim is to facilitate more sustainable software practices and mitigate computing's contribution to climate change.

1. KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward
SFSCon (Bolzano)
11 November 2022
be4foss@floss.social
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 1 / 22

2. Slides available under "conferences-workshops":
https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/be4foss/
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 2 / 22

3. Tautology Or Oxymoron?
“Computing can help mitigate climate change
but must first cease contributing to it.”
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3483410
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 3 / 22

4. Energy Consumption
(I) Energy Efficiency same task, fewer hardware demands
(II) Energy Conservation eliminating unnecessary processes
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 4 / 22

5. Energy Efficiency
Modified from: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/entwicklung-anwendung-von-bewertungsgrundlagen-fuer
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 5 / 22

6. Energy Conservation
Modified from: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/entwicklung-anwendung-von-bewertungsgrundlagen-fuer
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 6 / 22

7. Blauer Engel For Desktop Software (2020)
Transparency and user autonomy recognized as being
crucial to sustainable software design!
ABCs of Award Criteria
(A) Resource & Energy Efficiency Hardware performance/energy consumption
(B) Potential Hardware Operating Life Runs on hardware at least 5 years old
(C) User Autonomy Uninstallability / Modularity / Security updates
Transparency / Support for open standards
Offline capability / Freedom from advertising
KDE Eco FEEP – FOSS Energy Efficiency Project BE4FOSS – Blauer Engel For FOSS
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 7 / 22

8. Achievement 1: Lab at KDAB, Berlin
Read more: https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-05-30-sprint-lab-setup/
https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-07-25-sprint-lab-follow-up/
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 8 / 22

9. Achievement 1: Lab at KDAB, Berlin
3 Scenarios To Measure
(i) Baseline OS (ii) Idle Mode (iii) Standard Usage Scenario
Screenshot modified from: Sustainable software products—Towards assessment criteria . . . (2018: Fig.4)
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 9 / 22

10. Achievement 2: Robust Scripting Tools
KDE Eco Tester (using xdotool) https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/feep/-/tree/master/tools/KdeEcoTest
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 10 / 22

11. Achievement 3: Okular Eco-Certified
First Ever Eco-Certified Computer Program:
KDE’s Popular PDF Reader Okular
Image from: https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-03-16-press-release-okular-blue-angel/
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 11 / 22

12. Impact 1: Public Conversation & Collaborations (I)
Golem (German)
Heise.de (German)
Netzpolitik (German)
Linux Magazine (German)
OpenSource.com
FSFE
Hacker News
Umwelt Campus
Blauer Engel website (German)
taz (German)
RESET
Deutschlandfunk Nova
(German)
Transform (German)
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 12 / 22

13. Impact 1: Public Conversation & Collaborations (II)
Presentations*
SFSCon (2021/2022)
CCC (2021), Grazer Linux Tage (2022)
COP26, OpenUK Awards (2021)
Linux App Summit (2022)
Fedora Nest (2022)
QtDevCon, Qt World Summit (2022)
Green Coding Berlin (2022)
SDIA Hackathon (2022)
Collaborations
Umwelt Campus
Green Coding Berlin
SDIA
Green Web Foundation
Community Outreach
Qt, GNOME, Fedora
TDF, LF Energy
Mozilla Firefox
*Presentation slides available at: https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/be4foss/-/tree/master/conferences-workshops/presentations
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 13 / 22

14. Impact 2: KDE Code Improvements
Nov. 2021 first MR at KDE labelled ‘Efficiency’, 160+ merged since!
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 14 / 22

15. Impact 3: Social Media (I)
All posts from KDE Promo team – Other (non-eco): 122 posts, Eco: 14 posts
ECO: 1st - 2nd Okular & BE, 3rd Website launch
Other: 1st KdenLive Fundraiser
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 15 / 22

16. Impact 3: Social Media (II)
All posts from KDE Promo team – Other: 59 posts, Eco: 4 posts
Ranking by # likes.
ECO: 1st GCompris, 2nd OpenSource.com
Other: 1st Plasma, 2nd KDE Connect
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 16 / 22

17. Aspiration 1: Measurement Handbook
3 Sections
(1) Intro: Software-driven energy consumption
(2) Okular & Blue Angel eco-label for software
(3) A hands-on measurement guide
First edition Q4 2022 / Q1 2023
Continuous updates to online edition
Curated PDF-edition every 2 years
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 17 / 22

18. Aspiration 2: Further Develop Measurement Tools
Image from: https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-07-25-sprint-lab-follow-up/
Can you help?
Online portal for
remote access
Measurement
automation
Robust emulation
tools that also work on
Wayland (Selenium)
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 18 / 22

19. Aspiration 3: Extending Outreach & Impact
Image from: https://eco.kde.org/blog/2022-07-25-sprint-lab-follow-up/
Can you help?
Awareness-raising
outreach to end users
Upcycling workshops
to keep unsupported
hardware in use
Best practice guides
Eco Plasma widget
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 19 / 22

20. Get Involved – https://eco.kde.org
Contact
Email: joseph@kde.org Mastodon: https://floss.social/@be4foss
Discuss
BigBlueButton: Monthly meet-ups, 2nd Wed. 19:00 CET/CEST
Energy Efficiency Mailing List:
https://mail.kde.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/energy-efficiency
Matrix Room: https://webchat.kde.org/#/room/#energy-efficiency:kde.org
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 20 / 22

21. Resources
Slides available under "conferences-workshops":
https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/be4foss/
FEEP, BE4FOSS, Blauer Engel Applications
https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 21 / 22

22. Funding Notice
This project was funded by the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature
Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). The funds are made available by resolution of the
German Bundestag.
The publisher is responsible for the content of this publication.
KDE Eco KDE Eco: Looking Backward & Forward 11 November 2022 22 / 22