What consumers indicate they want, Free Software can provide, though many consumers may not know it .... yet! With the newly-funded project "Opt Green: Sustainable Software For Sustainable Hardware" KDE Eco aims to change that. A 2020 Eurobarometer poll found that 80% of European consumers believe manufacturers should make it easier to repair digital devices, while 50% indicate that the reason they purchase a new device is due to performance issues and non-functioning software. Free Software communities already understand that you don't need to buy new hardware to have an efficient, well-functioning, and up-to-date digital device; you just need the right software! Now, KDE Eco wants to make sure everyone else knows it, too.
For the next 2 years, the "Opt Green" initiative will bring KDE Eco's work on sustainable software -- and, in turn, sustainable hardware -- directly to consumers. And this is as good a time as ever. In 2025, the end of support for Windows 10 is estimated to make e-waste out of 240 million computers ineligible for Windows 11. One year later in 2026, at the earliest, macOS support for Intel-based Apple computers -- the last of which were sold in 2020 -- is predicted to end, rendering even more millions upon millions of functioning computers obsolete. Every one of these functioning, yet vendor-abandoned devices can stay out of the landfill and in use for years to come with sustainable Free Software. (Consider, by comparison, that only in 2022 did Linus Torvalds suggest ending support for 1989's Intel 486 processors. That's 33 years of Linux kernel support!)
By design, Free Software is right-to-repair software: it gives users control over their hardware by removing vendor dependencies and guaranteeing transparency and user autonomy. In this talk, I will present KDE Eco's new "Opt Green" project in terms of the whys, whats, and hows for bringing sustainable Free Software to new users. A target audience for the project are eco-consumers, those whose consumer behaviors are driven by principles related to the environment, and not necesssarily convenience or cost. Through online and offline campaigns as well as installation workshops, KDE Eco will demonstrate at fair-trade, organic, and artisinal markets the power of Free Software to drive down energy consumption and keep devices in use for years beyond official vendor support. With independent, sustainable software designed for users' needs, not vendors', it is possible to run efficient, cutting-edge software on the digital devices you already have at home or in your pocket. Opt green today! The most environmentally-friendly device is the one you already own.
