Introducing Software Sustainability Demands into Large Organisational Procurement Processes

Abstract: As the ICT sector saw exponential growth over the last few decades, so too did the greenhouse gas emissions caused by it, to the point where the ICT sector is at least as big, if not bigger, than the airline industry. Previous research in this field has circled around methodologies for performing life cycle assessment of ICT software products, but has not put it in an organisational context which has lead to no agreed upon way of calculating and comparing sustainable software. This study analyses existing research in the field and through a thematic analysis of qualitative interviews and a case study of Scania CV AB in Södertälje, Sweden puts it into a procurement context, focusing on key metrics and comparability over exhaustiveness. This study found that by assessing ICT software products through four different phases, or scopes, a level of accuracy suitable for large organisations are achieved. Key metrics for organisational procurement processes to take into account are those of the hosting phase, such as geographical location, source of electricity and data centre effectiveness. By putting software life cycle assessments into a business context, this study helps make ICT sustainability research more readily available to people working with ICT product procurement and makes a contribution to the interdisciplinary research in the fields of technology, business and sustainability.