Green IT in practice - sustainability in IT purchasing and software development

Importance of ESG criteria in the IT sector 

• Introduction to the EU Green Deal and ESG criteria (environmental, social, governance) and their relevance for IT companies and IT procurement.
• Basic overview of legal provisions and regulatory requirements, corporate digital responsibility (CDR), opportunities and benefits. 

Sustainability by design in software development 

• Development and implementation of sustainable IT products and processes.
• Methods and tools for energy-efficient and environmentally friendly software development, in compliance with legal requirements, EU Ecodesign Regulation. 

Green IT and hardware optimization 

• Strategies for reducing energy consumption in IT infrastructures through optimized hardware, cloud computing and guidelines from the Federal Environment Agency. 

Data science and AI for sustainability 

• Use of big data, analytics and artificial intelligence for environmental monitoring, resource efficiency and prediction of environmental developments.
• Legal basis of data procurement and the obligations to release data.  

ESG assessment and creation of a matrix 

• Practical exercise to develop an individual ESG evaluation matrix.
• Evaluation of environmental, social and governance aspects and exchange of experiences among participants. 

Reporting and compliance in accordance with CSRD and ESRS

• Systematic introduction to the legal requirements for the disclosure of sustainability information in the CSRD.
• Standards for European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).
• Compliance with the EU Taxonomy Regulation Analysis of the current situation and implementation of the standards in practice. 

Sustainability in IT procurement 

• Evaluation factors and strategies for the sustainable procurement of software and IT products.
• Opportunities through ESG implementation: competitive advantages, innovations and cost savings. 

​Opportunities, risks and obligations in ESG implementation 

• Analysis of challenges and risks such as technological dependencies, data protection requirements under the GDPR, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its requirements, regulatory risks, and the implementation of ESG criteria and responsibilities within the company.
• Strengthening digital sovereignty in the EU through the procurement of open-source software.