Achieving a Circular Economy with Free Software

Explore the crucial role of free software in achieving a circular economy and reducing the environmental impact of digital technology in this 50-minute conference talk from Ubuntu Summit 2023. Learn how free software licenses can interrupt the linear digital economy of consume, use, and discard, shifting towards reuse and repair for both software and hardware. Discover the findings from KDE's handbook "Applying The Blue Angel Criteria To Free Software," which presents methods for certifying software as sustainable with the Blue Angel ecolabel. Gain insights into the environmental harm driven by software, the alignment of Free & Open Source Software values with sustainable design, and KDE's current sustainability initiatives, including the FOSS Energy Efficiency Project, KEcoLab, and efficiency bug fixes.