Practical adoption of green coding : a comparative study across organizations in Finland and Globally

Abstract

As the environmental impact of digital technologies gains increasing attention, the concept of green coding has emerged as a critical aspect of sustainable software engineering. This study investigates the practical adoption of green coding practices in organizations in Finland and globally to understand how they approach green coding in their software development workflow. It applies qualitative research methodology, combining a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews. Key findings indicate that while organizations adhere to coding practices that fall under the green coding spectrum, the explicit focus on sustainability is often deprioritized, especially in organizations outside EU. Interestingly, in larger organizations, such as banks, green coding initiatives are mostly driven from the bottom up, led by software engineers and technical teams. This reflects a positive shift that demonstrates the need for the integration of green coding in curricula to produce software practitioners with a sustainability mindset. However, consulting companies often struggle to communicate the value of green coding to their clients, as clients view it as an added cost despite its long-term savings and environmental benefits.