Posts Tagged ‘Fairness’
[PHPForumParis2021] Saving the Planet by Doing Less – Hélène Maitre-Marchois
Hélène Maitre-Marchois, a Scrum Master and co-founder of Fairness, delivered a thought-provoking presentation at Forum PHP 2021, urging developers to embrace digital sobriety to reduce the environmental impact of technology. Drawing on her work at Fairness, a cooperative focused on responsible digital solutions, Hélène challenged the audience to rethink feature development and prioritize sustainability. Her talk, blending ecological awareness with practical strategies, inspired developers to make impactful choices. This post explores four key themes: the environmental cost of digital technology, questioning feature necessity, optimizing user experience, and fostering sustainable practices.
The Environmental Cost of Digital Technology
Hélène Maitre-Marchois opened by highlighting the significant environmental footprint of digital technology, noting that it accounts for 3–4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, a figure growing by 8% annually. She emphasized that the internet is not intangible—data centers, networks, and user devices consume vast resources. Hélène referenced studies from GreenIT and The Shift Project, underscoring that user devices, with low recycling rates, contribute heavily to this impact. By framing coding as an energy-intensive activity, she urged developers to consider the ecological consequences of their work, from CPU usage to disk operations.
Questioning Feature Necessity
A core message of Hélène’s talk was the importance of challenging the need for every feature. She advocated for a “why” mindset, questioning whether functionalities truly serve users or merely satisfy client assumptions. Hélène shared examples where client-driven features, like flashy designs, were less valuable than anticipated when tested with users. By prioritizing minimal, purposeful development, developers can reduce resource consumption, aligning with the principles of eco-design that Fairness champions, ensuring applications are both functional and environmentally responsible.
Optimizing User Experience
Hélène stressed that sustainable design enhances user experience without sacrificing aesthetics. She suggested practical measures, such as using dark backgrounds to reduce screen energy consumption, as black pixels require less power than white ones on many displays. By optimizing user journeys and focusing on essential information, developers can create efficient, user-friendly applications. Hélène’s approach, rooted in her Scrum Master experience, emphasizes collaboration with designers and stakeholders to balance usability and sustainability, ensuring applications meet real user needs.
Fostering Sustainable Practices
Concluding her presentation, Hélène encouraged developers to adopt sustainable coding practices, such as optimizing database queries and choosing energy-efficient data formats. She highlighted the role of ethical designers and community initiatives like La Fresque du Numérique in promoting digital sobriety. By integrating these practices, developers can contribute to a cleaner internet, aligning with Fairness’ mission to build a responsible digital ecosystem. Hélène’s call to action inspired attendees to rethink their workflows and prioritize ecological responsibility in their projects.