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Comments on the ADEME report: Sustainability and Sovereignty Through Open Source

2025-01-20

Europe is grappling with a dual challenge: forging a sustainable future while simultaneously asserting its digital sovereignty. How can these seemingly divergent goals be reconciled? A recent report from ADEME, France's Agency for Ecological Transition, ("Numérique & environnement: entre opportunités et nécessaire sobriété" - Digital & Environment: Between Opportunities and Necessary Sobriety), provides data, insight and perspective. Importantly, the report's findings strongly support the EuroStack Initiative's vision for a sovereign, open, and sustainable European digital infrastructure, demonstrating that these goals are not only compatible but mutually reinforcing.

The Urgent Need for Digital Sobriety

ADEME's report highlights the reality of our growing digital footprint. In France, the digital sector already accounts for 4.4% of the national carbon footprint—equivalent to all heavy goods vehicles' emissions—and this figure could triple by 2050. Beyond carbon emissions, resource depletion is a significant concern, with 117 million tonnes of resources used annually in France for digital equipment alone.

ADEME's call for "digital sobriety" is not about rejecting technology, but about using it more thoughtfully. It's a conscious choice, aligned with the "Less is more" philosophy of the "Manifesto for a Lean and Decarbonized Digital World" (source, in French), advocating for simpler, more transparent tools that serve us rather than dominate us.

The Hidden (Environmental) Cost of Hardware

The report reveals a crucial, often underestimated factor: hardware manufacturing accounts for a staggering 75% of the digital sector's environmental impact. This underscores the urgent need to extend the lifespan of our devices—a point reinforced by the "The contribution of open source software to the sustainability of equipment" document (source, in French), which highlights that doubling a smartphone's life from 4 to 8 years nearly halves its environmental impact.

But beyond carbon emissions, the report highlights the often-overlooked issue of resource depletion. A staggering 117 million tonnes of resources are used annually in France just to produce and use digital equipment.

This is where ADEME's powerful call for "digital sobriety" resonates most profoundly. It's not merely about incremental improvements in energy efficiency; it's about fundamentally rethinking our relationship with technology (e.g. another paradigm shift). As the report states:

Even deploying these necessary [efficiency] measures, ADEME considers that the environmental benefit of certain digital applications cannot justify, on its own, turning a blind eye to the risks associated with their rapid development. ADEME thus considers that it is necessary to reason in terms of digital sobriety, by questioning, prioritizing and ultimately reducing certain digital uses.

Open Source: Contributing to a Sustainable Digital Future

ADEME, along with the two manifestos, strongly advocates for prioritizing open source solutions. Open source offers:

  • Transparency: Allowing for scrutiny of software's environmental impact.
  • Flexibility: Enabling customization and adaptation to specific needs, avoiding bloat.
  • Reduced Vendor Lock-in: Breaking free from forced upgrades and planned obsolescence.
  • Innovation: Fostering collaborative development of sustainable solutions.
  • Right to Repair: Empowering users to maintain and extend their devices' lifespan.

ADEME succinctly states:

More specifically, open source software has many virtues, particularly for businesses, due to the control users can have over the software. The advantages are numerous, such as reduced costs, flexibility of use, lower cyber risk, durability, and sustainability of updates, thus reducing software obsolescence (for example, the end of support for Windows 10 in October 2025 will make millions of computers obsolete), transparency, and less dependence on a single vendor. Open data is an obligation for public actors.

[...]

To strengthen our digital sovereignty policies, ADEME proposes prioritizing funding towards open digital solutions (open source software, open data) that serve the ecological transition, while ensuring prior quantification of the benefits of the proposed solutions. It also recommends prioritizing the purchase and use of open source software within administrations and local authorities, and launching calls for joint digital projects within territories and industrial sectors.

Key Recommendations and the EuroStack Vision

The ADEME report, in conjunction with the two manifestos, offers a comprehensive roadmap for a more sustainable and sovereign digital future. Here are some key, interconnected recommendations:

  1. Embrace "GreenOps": Integrate environmental considerations into every stage of software development and deployment, a concept championed by the "Manifesto for a Lean and Decarbonized Digital World."
  2. Prioritize Open Source in Public Procurement: Leverage the power of public spending to drive the adoption of open source solutions, a principle strongly advocated by both ADEME and the EuroStack's "Public Money, Public Code" tenet.
  3. Promote Digital Sobriety: Encourage responsible digital consumption, extend the lifespan of devices through repair and reuse (as championed by organizations like Ordi3.0, highlighted in the "Contribution of Free Software" document), and critically evaluate the necessity of every new gadget and service.
  4. Invest in Frugal AI: Support the development of smaller, more specialized AI models that are less resource-intensive, an area where ADEME sees significant potential for European innovation.
  5. Champion Open APIs and Data Formats: Ensure that connected devices and peripherals can be used and maintained even when the original manufacturer discontinues support. This point is strongly made in the document "Contribution of Free Software to Equipment Sustainability" and is fully endorsed by EuroStack.
  6. Measure, Monitor, and Improve: Develop and deploy robust, open methodologies for assessing the environmental impact of digital technologies throughout their lifecycle. ADEME's work in this area is crucial and needs to be expanded.

The EuroStack Initiative provides a framework for realizing this vision. By building a modular, interoperable digital infrastructure based on open standards and open source, EuroStack can help Europe reclaim digital sovereignty, drive sustainability, and empower citizens and businesses.

A Call to Action

The path is clear: embracing open source, promoting responsible digital practices, and fostering collaboration are crucial. Europe can lead the way towards a digital future that is both environmentally sound and strategically independent. The EuroStack Initiative offers a blueprint, and it's time to turn this vision into reality.

References

Annex: Comparison between the Three Papers

This comparative table will highlight the respective positions, focus areas, and key arguments of the three papers mentioned in this post.

Feature ADEME Report ("Numérique & environnement : entre opportunités et nécessaire sobriété") CLL Position Paper ("Apports du logiciel libre à la durabilité des équipements") Hub Open Source & NAOS Manifesto ("Manifeste pour un numérique sobre et décarboné avec le logiciel libre et open source")
Document Type & Status Official report from a French governmental agency (published in January 2025) Position paper supported by the majority of the members of the "ecosystem" council and supported by DINUM. (January 2023) Manifesto from two open source clusters, Systematic Hub Open Source and Nouvelle-Aquitaine Open Source (NAOS), published in November 2022
Primary Focus Broad environmental impact of the digital sector in France, including energy consumption, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions. Emphasis on both equipment and usage. Technical and practical aspects of extending the lifespan of digital equipment (smartphones, computers, peripherals, IoT) through the use of free and open source software. Advocacy for open source as a key solution for achieving a sustainable and decarbonized digital sector. Strong emphasis on the principles and values of open source in the context of ecological transition.
Key Arguments Digital sector's environmental impact is significant and growing rapidly. Need for "sobriété numérique" (digital sobriety) - reducing overall digital consumption and questioning usage. Importance of extending equipment lifespan. Advocacy for open source, eco-design, "low tech," and "GreenOps." Need for robust impact measurement methodologies. Open APIs are presented as a lever to fight against obsolescence. Manufacturing has the largest environmental impact (75%). Open source OS and software can extend hardware lifespan beyond vendor-imposed limits. Open APIs and data formats are crucial for long-term device usability. Highlights the role of the ESS in reconditioning and reuse. Provides concrete examples (Fairphone, e/OS, LineageOS, Ordi3.0). Digital sector's impact goes beyond carbon footprint, includes resource depletion and waste. Open source principles (open code, open documentation, interoperable standards) contribute to sustainability. Advocates for eco-design, "low tech," recycling, and open data. "Less is more" philosophy - simpler tools are better. Open source enables "GreenOps." Open source business models are sustainable.
Emphasis on Open Source Strong support for open source to achieve transparency, flexibility, reduced vendor lock-in, and innovation. Recommends prioritizing open source in public procurement and funding. Core argument revolves around the ability of open source to extend hardware lifespan and combat planned obsolescence. Open source is presented as the primary solution. Positions open source as the cornerstone of a sustainable digital future. Emphasizes the ethical and practical advantages of open source for achieving ecological goals.
"Sobriété Numérique" Central concept. Defined as a conscious and responsible approach to digital consumption, questioning needs and reducing unnecessary usage. Implicitly supported through focus on extending hardware lifespan and combating planned obsolescence. Not explicitly defined as "sobriété numérique." Explicitly embraced and promoted as a guiding principle for the digital sector.
Target Audience Policymakers, businesses, general public. Primarily stakeholders in the IT industry, policymakers, and organizations involved in hardware reuse and refurbishment. IT industry, policymakers, open source community, general public.
Geographical Scope Primarily France, but with implications for European policy. Primarily France, but with broader relevance to other countries. Primarily France, with a European perspective.
Actionable Recommendations Prioritize open source in public procurement. Promote digital sobriety. Support eco-design and "low tech." Invest in frugal AI. Develop robust impact measurement tools. Strengthen regulations (e.g., REEN, AGEC). Promote the installation of open source OS on older hardware. Support the development of open APIs for connected devices. Encourage the use of lightweight open source distributions. Support the ESS actors in the reconditioning sector. Adopt eco-design principles. Use open source tools for development and measurement. Promote "GreenOps." Support open source business models. Engage in open source communities and initiatives. Increase the lifespan of hardware.
Limitations / Gaps Less technical detail on how open source specifically extends hardware lifespan. Broader scope might dilute the focus on specific solutions. Less emphasis on the broader context of digital consumption and "sobriété numérique." Primarily focused on technical solutions. Less detailed on specific policy recommendations compared to the ADEME report.
Relationship to EuroStack Highly aligned with EuroStack's principles of open source, sustainability, digital sovereignty, and "Public Money, Public Code." Provides strong policy support for the EuroStack Initiative. Reinforces EuroStack's emphasis on open source as a key enabler of sustainability and its focus on extending hardware lifespan. Provides practical examples that support EuroStack's vision. Strongly aligned with EuroStack's values and principles. Positions open source as a fundamental building block for a sovereign and sustainable European digital infrastructure, as advocated by EuroStack.

Overall Positioning:

  • ADEME: Provides a comprehensive, data-driven overview of the environmental challenges posed by the digital sector in France, advocating for a holistic approach that includes policy changes, technological solutions, and behavioral shifts. It serves as a foundational document for understanding the broader context.
  • CLL: Offers a focused, technically detailed argument for the specific role of open source in extending hardware lifespan. It serves as a practical guide for implementing open source solutions for sustainability.
  • Hub Open Source & NAOS Manifesto: Presents a visionary and values-driven call to action, positioning open source as a central pillar of a sustainable and decarbonized digital future. It serves as an inspirational and motivational document for the open source community and beyond.