Green Software Foundation

What Green Software Foundation does

Green Software Foundation (GSF) is a nonprofit standards organization operating under the Linux Foundation, founded in May 2021 by Microsoft, Accenture, GitHub, ThoughtWorks, and Goldman Sachs. It develops vendor-neutral specifications and open-source tooling for measuring and reducing the environmental impact of software, including carbon emissions, energy consumption, and water usage. Its core portfolio includes the Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification, which achieved ISO 21031:2024 certification in April 2024; the SCI for AI and SCI for Web extensions; the SOFT Framework for organizational implementation; the Real Time Cloud standard requiring cloud providers to disclose energy and carbon data; and supporting tools such as the Carbon Aware SDK, Impact Framework, and Green Software Patterns catalog.

GSF serves technology companies, financial institutions, consulting firms, and academic institutions through a consensus-governed member consortium of 60-70 organizations spanning Microsoft, Google, UBS, Goldman Sachs, Siemens, NTT DATA, HSBC, Accenture, and others. Revenue comes from membership dues under a tiered structure, supplemented by free educational programs (the Green Software Practitioner course has 130,000+ completions). The foundation operates as a member-driven model where each organization holds one vote regardless of size, and distribution occurs through open-source tooling, educational platforms, community programs (Carbon Hack hackathons, 37 meetup groups across 17 countries, podcasts), and direct membership engagement rather than traditional sales channels.

Name

Green Software Foundation

Legal name

Joint Development Foundation Projects, LLC, Green Software Foundation Series

Website

https://greensoftware.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nonprofit standards consortium under the Linux Foundation that develops vendor-neutral specifications and open-source tools for measuring and reducing software carbon emissions, serving 60-70 member organizations across technology, finance, and consulting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Sustainability Standards and Tooling

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Emissions Factors, LCA & Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Platforms (EUABAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Benchmarking, Ratings & Stakeholder Reporting Portals (Scorecards, Dashboards) (EUABAEAJ)

Keywords

• Sustainable software standards
• Software carbon intensity
• Green software tooling
• Carbon-aware computing
• Open-source sustainability specifications

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: GSF operates as a nonprofit under the Linux Foundation with membership fees from for-profit, nonprofit, and academic member organizations. The foundation does not sell products directly; revenue comes from member dues that fund standards development and community programs.
2. Education programs: Free Green Software Practitioner course generates indirect value through increased adoption of standards. Advanced certification and cohort programs may have associated fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Green Software Foundation is a nonprofit consortium under the Linux Foundation that develops vendor-neutral specifications, open-source tooling, and best practices for measuring and reducing the environmental impact of software, including carbon emissions, energy consumption, and water usage. Its core deliverables include the ISO-certified Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification, the SOFT Framework for organizational adoption, and supporting tools such as the Carbon Aware SDK, Impact Framework, and a peer-reviewed Green Software Patterns catalog.

Product overview

The Green Software Foundation is a nonprofit standards organization under the Linux Foundation that creates a portfolio of specifications, tools, and educational resources for sustainable software. The core products include the ISO-certified Software Carbon Intensity (SCI) specification and its extensions for AI and Web, the SOFT Framework for organizational implementation, and the Real Time Cloud Standard. Supporting tools include the Carbon Aware SDK, Impact Framework, Green Software Patterns catalog, and Carmen carbon measurement engine. Educational offerings include the Green Software Practitioner course (130,000+ completions). Community programs encompass Carbon Hack hackathons, the Environment Variables and CXO Bytes podcasts, and the Policy Radar for tracking legislation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Software Carbon Intensity Specification (SCI) ISO 21031:2024 certified rate-based metric that enables engineering teams to set targets and measure software carbon emissions as a rate ((E x I) + M) per R, rather than an aggregate total.
• SCI for AI Specification Extends the SCI methodology specifically to artificial intelligence systems, providing standardized measurement across training and inference for LLMs to computer vision across six AI lifecycle stages.
• SCI for Web Standard for measuring website carbon intensity covering the full delivery chain: servers, networks, third-party services, and end-user devices.
• SOFT Framework (Sustainable Organizational Framework for Technology) Comprehensive framework for embedding green software practices systematically across Strategy, Implementation, Operational, and Compliance domains; includes 100+ ready-to-use templates.
• Real Time Cloud Standard (RTC) First specification requiring cloud providers to share real-time energy and carbon data in a common format, enabling transparency in cloud sustainability.
• Carbon Aware SDK Open-source toolkit for carbon-aware computing that enables shifting workloads to cleaner energy times; the first open-source toolkit graduated from GSF.
• Impact Framework (IF) Open-source tool that assesses software's environmental impacts including carbon emissions, water usage, land usage, and other chemical impacts across all components and environments.
• Green Software Patterns Catalog Peer-reviewed catalog of 50+ actionable techniques for reducing software emissions covering AI, Cloud, and Web domains; organized by software lifecycle stage and persona roles.
• Software Water Intensity (SWI) Specification project led by the Software Standards Working Group to develop a consistent methodology for measuring and reducing software's water footprint.
• Carmen (Carbon Measurement Engine) Enterprise-scale carbon measurement engine developed at Amadeus that identifies which applications are driving emissions, enabling targeted optimization.
• Green Software Practitioner Course Free foundational training course equipping engineering teams to implement green software practices; over 130,000 completions globally; developed with Microsoft, Accenture, ThoughtWorks, and GitHub.
• Policy Radar Shared transparent tool tracking forthcoming green software legislation globally and coordinating formal consultation responses across the foundation.
• State of Green Software Report Annual research publication providing comprehensive analysis of the green software landscape and sustainability in digital infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• 130,000+ engineers trained through Green Software Practitioner course
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, founding and core/leadership.

• Sustainable and Scalable Infrastructure Alliance (SSIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2024SSIA merged into GSF in December 2024 to unify hardware and software ecosystems. Brought Hardware Standards Working Group and WDPC project to GSF portfolio.
• MicrosoftfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021Co-founded GSF with Accenture, GitHub, ThoughtWorks, and Goldman Sachs in May 2021. Led development of SCI specification, Carbon Aware SDK, and Green Software Practitioner course. Co-chairs SOFT Framework with HSBC.
• AccenturefoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021Co-founded GSF. Contributed to SCI specification, Impact Framework development, and multiple working groups. Steering Committee representation through Janardan Misra and Sanjay Podder.
• GitHubfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021Co-founded GSF alongside Microsoft, Accenture, ThoughtWorks, and Goldman Sachs. Contributed to standards development and community building.
• ThoughtWorksfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021Co-founded GSF. Contributed to founding vision and standards development process.
• Goldman SachsfoundingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2021Co-founded GSF. Built Green Software Practitioner course with 50,000+ trained in first year. Contributed to Patterns catalog development with Goldman Sachs engineers Sarah Hsu and Liya Mathew.
• NTT DATAcore/leadershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSF Chair organization led by VP Gadhu Sundaram. Built Green Software Patterns catalog with NTT DATA contributors. Senior Manager Yusuke Kobayashi serves on Steering Committee.
• Googlecore/leadershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerVice-Chair organization led by Jonathan Turnbull. Contributed to SCI for AI specification and Real Time Cloud standard. Multiple projects including WDPC initiative.
• Siemenscore/leadershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteering Committee member through Carolin Rubner (Head of Research Group). Contributes to SOFT framework and hardware standards working group.
• UBScore/leadershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSteering Committee member through Ben Logan (Global Technology Lead) and Vinjosh Varghese (Data Engineer). Led Real Time Cloud standard development. Published SCI case studies for banking applications.
• HSBCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-chaired SOFT Framework development with Microsoft. Implementing framework across Strategy, Implementation, Operational, and Compliance domains.
• WattTimecoreTechnology or IntegrationHenry Richardson serves as Software Standards Working Group Chair. Contributed to SCI specification and SCI for AI development. Provides expertise on carbon intensity measurement.
• The Green Web FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChris Adams leads Policy Working Group and SCI for Web specification. Contributed to Policy Radar development and AI-accelerated consensus process.
• Electricity MapscoreTechnology or IntegrationRyan Sholin chairs Policy Working Group. Contributes to policy engagement and regulatory tracking through Policy Radar tool.
• AmadeuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads Carbon Measurement Engine (Carmen) project through Florent Morel. Contributes to SCI methodology and measurement tools development.
• AVEVAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloped methodology to isolate software energy consumption from hardware using high-precision measurement. Significant emissions reductions achieved across top products.
• Linux FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGSF operates as a nonprofit under the Linux Foundation. Linux Foundation provides fiscal sponsorship, legal infrastructure through Joint Development Foundation, and operational support.
• Joint Development FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides corporate and legal infrastructure for GSF as an accredited nonprofit. Enables standards development and open-source collaboration under established governance framework.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Green Web Foundation: Nonprofit focused on making the web carbon-aware through hosting provider verification and tools for developers. GSF partners with Green Web Foundation (Chris Adams leads GSF's Policy Working Group and SCI for Web specification) and they share the mission of building standards-driven infrastructure for green digital services.
• Boavizta: Open-source collaborative working on environmental impact assessment of digital services, providing measurement tools and methodologies for ICT footprint. Member of GSF, they share the open-source, vendor-neutral approach to measuring digital environmental impact.
• Climate Action Tech: Global community of technology professionals using their skills to address climate change, including educational programs and working groups on sustainable software. They are a GSF member organization focused on grassroots community engagement, complementing GSF's standards work.
• WattTime: Nonprofit providing real-time and forecasted grid carbon intensity data used by Carbon Aware SDK and other GSF tools. WattTime's Henry Richardson chairs GSF's Software Standards Working Group, making them a key technical contributor to SCI and related specifications.
• Electricity Maps: Provider of granular real-time grid carbon intensity data used for carbon-aware computing workloads. Electricity Maps is a GSF member and chairs GSF's Policy Working Group, sharing the mission of enabling software to operate in sync with grid emissions intensity.
• Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA): Alliance promoting sustainability across digital infrastructure, formerly active alongside SSIA (which merged into GSF in December 2024). They share GSF's mission of sustainable digital infrastructure and operate with a similar cross-stakeholder collaborative model.

Broad incumbents

• Linux Foundation: Parent fiscal sponsor of GSF and operator of thousands of open-source projects across the technology stack. Linux Foundation provides legal, operational, and governance infrastructure to GSF and many peer foundations, with significant overlap in mission of vendor-neutral open standards development.
• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium): International standards body for the World Wide Web, collaborating with GSF (announced Sept 2025) on web sustainability measurement standards. W3C's broader web standards scope and global institutional reach make them both a collaborator and potential competitor in web sustainability specification.
• GHG Protocol: Most widely used international accounting standard for greenhouse gas emissions by corporations. GHG Protocol provides the upstream corporate reporting framework within which GSF's SCI specification operates, making them an adjacent upstream standard-setter for the climate disclosure ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Cloud Sustainability Watch: Community-driven initiative tracking cloud sustainability commitments and metrics across major providers. GSF member organization that overlaps with GSF's Real Time Cloud Standard work, focused on transparency in cloud provider environmental disclosure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gsfcommunity
• GitHubgithub.com/Green-Software-Foundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/green-software-foundation

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A1 record

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Green Software Foundation