This document discusses KDE Eco's efforts to obtain Blauer Engel eco-certification for free and open source software. It outlines KDE Eco's goals of promoting energy efficient software development and certifying FOSS projects with the Blauer Engel ecolabel. The certification process involves 3 steps: 1) Measuring energy consumption and hardware performance, 2) Analyzing results using tools like OSCAR, and 3) Submitting a report demonstrating fulfillment of the Blauer Engel criteria related to efficiency, hardware lifespan, and user autonomy. Certification would benefit projects by differentiating them as environmentally friendly and increasing their appeal for green procurement.

1. Sustainable Software &
Blauer Engel Eco-Certification
12 November 2021
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2. Outline
1 KDE Eco
2 Blauer Engel Ecolabel
3 Certification In 3 Steps
4 Looking To The Future
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3. Slides available under "conferences-workshops":
https://invent.kde.org/joseph/be4foss/
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4. Software Bloat
From: Blauer Engel Award Criteria For Software (2020: p. 5)
"The availability of more and more powerful hardware has resulted in
software becoming more and more bloated from version to version so that
more resources are required for only minimal or even no enhancement
of the functionality."
See: https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/products/electric-devices/resources-and-energy-efficient-software-products
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5. Energy Consumption: Standard Usage Scenarios
Entwicklung und Anwendung von Bewertungsgrundlagen für ressourceneffiziente Software ... (2018: p. 24)
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/publikationen/entwicklung-anwendung-von-bewertungsgrundlagen-fuer
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6. Energy Consumption
Comparisons (Recall: Same Usage Scenario)
50 watt light bulb on for 0.5 hours
= Word Processor 1 (3.60 Watt-hours) ∼ 7 hours
= Word Processor 2 (0.93 Watt-hours) ∼ 27 hours
Image license: CC0
https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=155227&picture=light-bulb
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7. KDE Eco
KDE Eco – Building Energy-Efficient Free Software!
Push conversation on environmental impact of software
Be pioneers in energy-efficient software development
Promote tools for measuring energy efficiency
Certify FOSS with Blauer Engel ecolabel
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8. KDE Eco
OUR GOAL
To put free software at the forefront of energy efficient software !!!
Get involved!
Sprints, Mailing list, Matrix room, KDE Forum . . . more later
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9. KDE Eco
FEEP – Free and open source Energy Efficiency Project
Improving energy efficiency in FOSS by:
Collecting energy consumption measurements
Integrating consumption measurements into development process
https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/feep
BE4FOSS – Blauer Engel 4 FOSS
Supporting FEEP by collecting, summarizing & spreading
information for eco-certification and efficiency in software
FOSS is particularly well-positioned for obtaining BE ecolabel !!!
https://invent.kde.org/joseph/be4foss
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10. Eco-Certification
Blauer Engel Since 1978
Ecolabel in Germany for environmentally friendly products
Recognized by 92% of Germans and highly regarded internationally
Awarded to a variety of products – including software !!!
https://www.blauer-engel.de/sites/default/files/publication/uba-40jahreblauerengel-publikation-en-web.pdf
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11. Eco-Certification
International Perspectives On BE Ecolabel
15% recipients outside Germany
No requirements on where product is marketed
Worldwide seen as mark of high quality / quality assurance
For companies: Criteria seen as . . .
I Indicator of direction of EU market
I Potential guideline for optimizing products
BE member of Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN)
https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/blue-angel/who-is-behind-it/ipartners
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12. Eco-Certification
KDE r BE
To submit: KMail, Okular; Krita (measured)
Measure-athon (Sprint): Kate, GCompris, YOUR PROJECT!
https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/blue-angel-application
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13. Eco-Certification
Benefits Of Blauer Engel (BE)
High standards in environmentally friendly software design
Differentiates KDE/Free Software from alternatives
Increases appeal of adoption for users and institutions (GPP)
Transparency in ecological footprint
What is Green Public Procurement (GPP)?
"[GPP is] a process whereby public authorities seek to procure goods,
services and works with a reduced environmental impact throughout
their life-cycle when compared to goods, services and works with the
same primary function that would otherwise be procured."
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/faq_en.htm
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14. Blauer Engel Ecolabel
3 Main Categories Of Award Criteria
(A) Resource & energy efficiency
(B) Potential hardware operating life
(C) User autonomy
For more information, see:
https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/products/electric-devices/resources-and-energy-efficient-software-products
Image: Publicgarden GmbH, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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15. The ABCs For Obtaining The BE Ecolabel
(A) Resource & Energy Efficiency
Hardware performance/energy consumption (idle & standard usage)
Statement minimum system requirements (CPU, working memory)
Statement of support for energy saving modes
(B) Potential Hardware Operating Life
Demonstrate that it runs on hardware at least 5 years old
(C) User Autonomy
Documentation (open standards, uninstallation how-to, privacy policy)
Transparency (open source)
Continuity of support (security updates)
Uninstallability / Modularity (installing essential functions only)
Offline capability / Freedom from advertising
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16. The ABCs For Obtaining The BE Ecolabel
(A) Resource & Energy Efficiency
→ Hardware performance/energy consumption (idle & standard usage)
Statement minimum system requirements (CPU, working memory)
Statement of support for energy saving modes
(B) Potential Hardware Operating Life
Demonstrate that runs on hardware at least 5 years old
(C) User Autonomy
Documentation (open standards, uninstallation how-to, privacy policy)
Transparency (open source)
Continuity of support (security updates)
Uninstallability / Modularity (installing essential functions only)
Offline capability / Freedom from advertising
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17. Certifying With Blauer Engel Seal
3 Steps To Eco-Certification
1 MEASURE energy consumption at, e.g., KDAB Berlin community lab
2 ANALYZE results using statistical tools such as OSCAR (Open
source Software Consumption Analysis in R).
3 CERTIFY by submitting full report on fulfillment of BE criteria
(A. Energy Efficiency, B. Hardware Operating Life, C. User Autonomy)
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18. Step 1: Measure (1/3)
Lab Setup: 2 Computers, 1 Power Meter
Computer 1 (System Under Test)
Power Meter (PM) + Computer 2 (Data Aggregator & Evaluator)
Cheap Power Meter
Notes on hacking cheap PM, see Volker Krause’s blog post: https:
//volkerkrause.eu/2020/10/17/kde-cheap-power-measurement-tools.html
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19. Lab Setup
Modified from:
Sustainable software products—Towards assessment criteria for resource & energy efficiency (2018: Fig.4)
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20. Step 1: Measure (2/3)
What Is Measured?
Energy Consumption: with, e.g., GUDE Expert Power Control 1202
power meter
Hardware Performance: collecting CPU, memory, disk, and network
data with, e.g., Collectl (GPLv2/Artistic License)
https://www.gude.info/en/power-distribution/switched-metered-pdu/expert-power-control-1202-series.html
https://sourceforge.net/projects/collectl/
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21. Step 1: Measure (3/3)
3 Scenarios To Measure (Baseline, Idle, Standard)
Baseline (OS)
Computer on, OS running
Idle Mode (OS + Application While Idle)
Application is opened but no action is taken
Standard Usage Scenario (OS + Application While Used)
Application in a standard usage scenario
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22. Pre-Measurement
Standard Usage Scenario
Should reflect typical and frequent functions
Task automation tool Actiona (GPLv3.0)
Otherwise various tools for this; see David Hurka’s summary:
https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/feep/-/blob/master/tools/.
Blauer Engel Notes On Scenarios
Currently freely selected (in future may be standardized)
Need log file of actions (idle & standard usage)
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23. Step 2: Analyze
Data Analysis
OSCAR (Open source Software Consumption Analysis in R)
https://oscar.umwelt-campus.de/
Developed by Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld
Requires: (i) log file of actions (idle & standard usage), (ii) energy
consumption & (iii) hardware performance results
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24. KMail: OSCAR Report Example
Energy consumption measurements of standard usage scenario
31 repetitions in gray, with average per second in red
Spikes at, e.g., sending email with attachment
https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/blue-angel-application/-/blob/master/applications/kmail/
de-uz-215-eng-annex-3-kmail-scenario.pdf
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25. The ABCs For Obtaining The BE Ecolabel
(A) Resource & Energy Efficiency
Hardware performance/energy consumption (idle & standard usage)
Statement minimum system requirements (CPU, working memory)
Statement of support for energy saving modes
(B) Potential Hardware Operating Life
Demonstrate that runs on hardware at least 5 years old
(C) User Autonomy
Documentation (open standards, uninstallation how-to, privacy policy)
Transparency (open source)
Continuity of support (security updates)
Uninstallability / Modularity (installing essential functions only)
Offline capability / Freedom from advertising
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26. Step 3: Certify
(A) Resource & Energy Efficiency
→ Criteria below KDE/FOSS already fulfilling, just need documentation!
Statement minimum system requirements (CPU, working memory)
Statement of support for energy saving modes
(B) Potential Hardware Operating Life
Demonstrate that runs on hardware at least 5 years old
(C) User Autonomy
Documentation (open standards, uninstallation how-to, privacy policy)
Transparency (open source)
Continuity of support (security updates)
Uninstallability / Modularity (installing essential functions only)
Offline capability / Freedom from advertising
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27. Looking To The Future
KDAB Berlin Community Lab
Long-term vision: software upload portal → hardware requirements
specified (processor, memory, age, etc.) and report is generated
Short-term goal: get lab set up (Sprint 11 December 2021)
Set up your own measurement lab?
Ways To Help The Community
Squash ’efficiency’ bugs (CPU spikes, delays, hangs, freezing, etc.)
Support for statistical analysis tools (OSCAR, other)
Submit Blauer Engel applications
Promotion & outreach (digital media, website, badge)
Give feedback for revised BE criteria
Develop automation tools to make measurements part of workflow
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28. Looking To The Future
SoftAWERE Project
’Software Architecture Tools for Energy Efficient and Resource Efficient Development’
(Software Architektur-Werkzeuge für energieeffiziente und ressourcenschonende Entwicklung)
Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA)
& Öko-Institut non-profit
CI tools for energy-efficient software development
Hackathons & workshops planned through 2022-2023
Conference presentation, 1. February 2022:
www.oop-konferenz.de/oop2022/programm/konferenzprogramm.html#item-3240
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29. Get Involved
Contact
Email: joseph@kde.org Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@BE4FOSS
Sprints
KDAB lab set up (11 December 2021) / Measure-athon (Q1 2022)
Discuss
BigBlueButton: Monthly meet-ups, 2nd Wed. 19:00 CET (UTC+1)
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
Community Support
KDE Eco Forum: https://forum.kde.org/viewforum.php?f=334
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30. Resources
FOSS Energy Efficiency Project (FEEP)
Repository: https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/feep
Blauer Engel For FOSS (BE4FOSS)
Repository: https://invent.kde.org/joseph/be4foss
Promo: https://phabricator.kde.org/T14785
Blauer Engel Applications
https://invent.kde.org/cschumac/blue-angel-application
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31. Funding Notice
This project is financially supported by: BMU1
The publisher is responsible for the content of this publication.
1
Official BMU und UBA-Logos are send only by request at: verbaendefoerderung@uba.de
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32. Reference System (GNU/Linux)
Technical Parameter 2016 2019
Manufacturer Fujitsu Fujitsu
Model Esprimo P920 Esprimo P958
Processor Intel i5-4590 Intel i5-8500
Cores 4 6
Clock speed 3.3 GHz 3.0 GHz
RAM 4GB (DDR3, 16GB (DDR4,
1600 MHz) 2666 MHz)
Hard disk HDD SATA III SSD M2 SATA
500 GB (6 Gbit/s) 512 GB (6 Gbit/s)
Graphics card Intel HD Intel UHD
Graphics 4600 Graphics 630
Network LAN LAN
GigaBit GigaBit
Resource and Energy-Efficient Software Products, DE-UZ 215 (2020: pp. 34–35)
https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/products/electric-devices/resources-and-energy-efficient-software-products
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33. Blauer Engel (Basic Award Criteria 2020)
Notes On The Ecolabel
Recognizing transparency related to energy efficiency (p. 6)
Not a comparative assessment between products! (p. 6)
Verification of compliance for updates (p. 9; new criteria, how often)
In The Future (p. 9)
May set minimum requirements (now none)
Will include server-client & mobile products
May include operating system software
See: https://www.blauer-engel.de/en/products/electric-devices/resources-and-energy-efficient-software-products
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