Aachen/Berlin, 22 June 2023 – This week, the new project from the Federal Association for IT SMEs (BITMi) Digital Sustainability in SMEs in the ICT Sector (DiNa) has started. DiNa aims to promote digital sustainability in the ICT SME sector through Green Coding, Green Software and Hardware.
The project is a ZIM innovation network, comprising 10 companies from the ICT sector, one research institution, and three associated partners. Together, the DiNa team aims to develop and validate solutions for measuring and reducing the resource consumption of software and hardware systems in application cases over the next few months. On the software side, hardware-independent and representative metrics are to be captured, enabling consumption recording at the software module or even source code level. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and is scheduled to run for 12 months.
„The DiNa network has the right mix of partners to launch exciting R&D projects for digitally sustainable products and services. BITMi, as coordinator, looks forward to the collaborative project work,“ says DiNa project manager Janek Götze.
Green Coding, Green Software and Hardware
Given the limited time, the objectives are ambitious. The aim is to create the prerequisites for programming software in a more energy-efficient and therefore sustainable way, in the spirit of Green Coding. In parallel and building upon this, AI-based methods for predicting and suggesting alternative programming approaches can be developed and made integrable into programming environments. On the hardware side, the network partners must realise a comparable and continuous sustainability assessment of the operated hardware systems – for this purpose, existing metrics are to be adapted and sensor technology developed.
„I am delighted that BITMi is now placing an even greater focus on the important topic of sustainable digitalisation with the new DiNa project. After all, sustainability not only offers a future fit for our children and grandchildren, but also provides excellent opportunities for the IT sector to demonstrate innovative strength and gain competitiveness,“ says BITMi Vice President and expert for sustainable IT, Nele Kammlott.
To better assess the sustainability of digitisation, it is necessary to enable comparability between analogue and digital processes. Social and societal aspects of digital sustainability are taken into account. The aim is to create the conditions for fair competition in terms of transparency and comparability of different approaches. It is planned to transfer the results to software optimisation, thereby promoting fair competition and strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises and Germany as a location.
The Federal Association of IT SMEs (BITMi) represents over 2,500 companies in the digital economy, making it the largest IT trade association for exclusively small and medium-sized enterprise interests in Germany.
Federal Association of IT SMEs (BITMi)
Pascalstraße 6
52076 Aachen
kontakt@bitmi.de
Tel.: 0241/1 89 05 58
Fax: 0241/1 89 05 55
Our associate partners
JARO Institute
The JARO Institute is a non-profit organisation founded in 2018, based in Berlin, which actively advocates for sustainable practices in business, administration, and organisations. The organisation pools knowledge and people to contribute with combined resources, among other things, to the implementation of the 17 UN Sustainability Goals by 2030.
Öko-Institut e.V.
The Öko-Institut is an independent research and consultancy institution for a sustainable future. Since its founding in 1977, the institute has worked interdisciplinarily and transdisciplinarily – with partners from business, science, and civil society – on fundamentals and strategies for how the vision of sustainable development can be implemented globally, nationally, and locally.
HTW Berlin
The HTW Berlin is a renowned University of Applied Sciences in Germany. It focuses on application-oriented research in collaboration with partners from business, industry, science, culture, and politics. The HTW Berlin is committed to sustainability and aims to make an important contribution to the United Nations' sustainability goals, including by focusing one of its research priorities on climate-friendly energy supply.
Environmental Campus Birkenfeld
The Birkenfeld Environmental Campus is the greenest university campus in Germany. It addresses issues of material cycles, sustainable development, the opportunities of energy-efficient digitalisation, and sustainable management, not only in its study content but also in applied research. The research profile consists of three focus areas: Applied Material Flow Management, Intelligent Technologies for Sustainable Development, and Life Sciences.
Our Network Partners
DiNa-Projekt Highlights
- supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK)
- Contact person: Holger Nickel M. A. (AixpertSoft Managing Director)
- Running period: 01.05.2023 – 30.04.2024
- Link: https://www.bitmi.de/leistungen/forschung-und-entwicklung/dina/