Introduction: A Blind Spot in Sustainability Discussions
In recent years, discussions about the environmental impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) have largely revolved around hardware — data centers, electronic waste, and energy consumption. However, an equally important factor has been overlooked: the software development methodologies themselves.
When I read the UNCTAD “Digital Economy Report 2024”, I was struck by the complete absence of any mention of how programming methodologies impact sustainability. There was no discussion of whether developers use algorithm-centric or code-centric methodologies when creating software, nor how these choices affect the environment.
This realization led me to introduce the concept of Eco-Methodological Sustainability — a new approach that highlights the role of structured software development methodologies in shaping an environmentally sustainable future for the digital economy.
A Historical Analogy: Highways and the Future of Software Sustainability
To illustrate this idea, let’s take a step back in time. Imagine a wide, modern-looking highway built in the late 1920s or early 1930s in the United States. The infrastructure appears incredibly advanced, but the cars traveling on it seem outdated, small, and primitive by today’s standards. What is striking is that the designers of these highways had the foresight to build roads that would accommodate future advancements in automobiles, even though they could not fully predict the rapid evolution of transportation.
This historical perspective is a perfect analogy for Eco-Methodological Sustainability. Just as early highway planners built for the future, we must design software development methodologies that anticipate future technological needs, ensuring adaptability, efficiency, and sustainability. If the engineers of the past had taken only the short-term view, we might have been left with roads too narrow and inefficient for modern transportation. Similarly, if we continue developing software without an eye on methodological sustainability, we risk creating an unsustainable digital infrastructure that will require massive overhauls in the future.
From Algorithm-Centric Programming to Eco-Methodological Sustainability
In Spring 2024, I introduced the term Algorithm-Centric Programming Methodologies (ACPM) in my article “Algorithm-Centric Programming Technologies”. My goal was to give subjectivity to methodologies that prioritize structured algorithmic design over iterative coding processes. The key methodologies I included under ACPM were:
Model-Driven Engineering (MDE)
Automata-Based Programming (Shalyto’s Approach)
Functional Programming
What united these methodologies was their algorithm-centric nature, distinguishing them from code-centric methodologies that focus on writing code first and refining logic later.
However, sustainability was not yet a core focus of ACPM at that stage.
The UN’s Oversight and My Meeting with UNCTAD
After reading the UNCTAD “Digital Economy Report 2024”, I published an article titled “Digital Polluters: How Programmers Harm the Environment and Why the UN Doesn’t Notice”. This article pointed out that while policymakers focus on the hardware-side of sustainability, they completely ignore the role of software development methodologies.
I reached out to the UNCTAD report’s authors, and to my surprise, they were interested in discussing this topic. During our online meeting, I explained that just as in physical construction, the choice of building materials and architectural principles affects environmental impact, the same applies to software development methodologies.
They found this perspective compelling and encouraged me to collaborate with CODES to further explore this issue.
Introducing the Eco-Programming Paradigm
Before fully formulating Eco-Methodological Sustainability, I had already begun developing a broader framework — the Eco-Programming paradigm. In my 2022 article “Introduction to the Eco-Programming Paradigm”, I defined eco-programming as:
A programming paradigm based on the idea that any software product is ultimately useless and environmentally harmful to humanity, except for a software product that can be quickly and inexpensively reprogrammed (modified, updated) to work with new data in new conditions.
This definition highlights that software sustainability is about adaptability and maintainability, not just efficiency. The longer a software system can evolve without excessive redevelopment, the more sustainable it becomes.
Certain programming methodologies were already operating within this eco-programming paradigm, including:
Automata-Based Programming
Model-Driven Engineering (MDE)
Functional Programming
These methodologies support flexible, maintainable, and reusable software, reducing waste and minimizing long-term environmental impact.
What Is Eco-Methodological Sustainability?
Through these discussions, I realized that sustainability in programming is not just about computational efficiency — it is about the methodologies we use to create software in the first place.
Thus, I coined the term Eco-Methodological Sustainability, which recognizes that:
Different software development methodologies have different ecological footprints.
Algorithm-centric methodologies (ACPM) tend to produce more maintainable, reusable, and efficient code, reducing long-term energy consumption and waste.
Code-centric methodologies often lead to inefficient, redundant, and unsustainable software, requiring frequent rewrites and consuming excessive computational resources.
In other words, EPA’s mission is not just about writing efficient code but about promoting development methodologies that inherently support sustainability.
Why the Current ESG Metrics Are Incomplete
One major problem is that current sustainability metrics in the ICT sector focus only on energy efficiency and carbon footprint, ignoring the software development process itself.
Eco-Methodological Sustainability calls for expanding ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) criteria to include:
The sustainability of software development methodologies.
The maintainability and longevity of software products.
The ecological impact of programming practices.
By including these factors, policymakers and organizations can make more informed decisions about sustainable technology development.
The Role of the Eco-Programming Alliance (EPA)
I would like to express my gratitude to Torbjörn Fredriksson, Head of the E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch at UNCTAD, with whom I discussed my observations on the “Digital Economy Report 2024” during an online meeting. He supported my idea of establishing the subjectivity of algorithm-centric programming methodologies in a philosophical sense — ensuring they have a collective voice and recognition as an entity that can influence discussions and be heard as a whole and the creation of EPA, promising full support for these initiatives.
I would also like to thank Laura Cyron, Economic Affairs Officer at the Digital Economy Policy Research Section at UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who was also present at this meeting and contributed to our discussion.
Recognizing this gap, I founded the Eco-Programming Alliance (EPA) to bring attention to the methodological aspects of sustainable software development. Our goals include:
Raising awareness about the impact of programming methodologies on sustainability.
Advocating for the inclusion of software development methodologies in ESG standards.
Promoting algorithm-centric methodologies (ACPM) as a foundation for eco-friendly software development.
Collaborating with organizations like UNCTAD and CODES to influence global ICT policies.
Conclusion: A Necessary Paradigm Shift
For too long, discussions about sustainable computing have been limited to algorithm efficiency and hardware energy consumption. Eco-Methodological Sustainability shifts the focus to how software is built, not just how it runs.
This shift is crucial because no amount of computational efficiency can compensate for software built on unsustainable methodologies. By promoting algorithm-centric and eco-conscious development approaches, the Eco-Programming Alliance aims to redefine how sustainability is understood in the digital world.
The next step is clear: we must ensure that global discussions on digital sustainability include the role of programming methodologies.
Call to Action
If you are a developer, researcher, or policymaker interested in sustainable technology, join the Eco-Programming Alliance (EPA) in shaping the future of eco-friendly software development. Together, we can make software not only smarter and more efficient but also sustainable for the long term.
