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GitHub Survey: Developers Want Tools and Best Practices for Energy-Efficient Software
Key points
- 80% of developers want tools for energy-efficient code.
- 75% desire best practices and measurement for environmental impact.
- 79% of respondents are worried about global warming.
- 71% are concerned about AI's environmental impact.
Developer Interest in Software Efficiency
A recent survey conducted by GitHub and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication gathered responses from 1,039 GitHub users. The central finding indicates that a significant majority of developers are interested in improving software efficiency.
Eight out of ten respondents expressed interest in tools that would help them write more energy-efficient code. Additionally, nearly 75% sought best practices for reducing software's environmental footprint and methods to measure the impact of their software or development processes.
Concerns About Climate Change and AI's Impact
The survey also explored developers' broader environmental concerns. 79% of respondents stated they were worried about global warming. A substantial 71% expressed concern regarding the environmental impact of AI systems, specifically citing energy and water use, and carbon emissions.
Furthermore, 75% of developers considered it important for their employers to actively work towards reducing environmental impact. These findings highlight a general awareness and concern among developers about environmental issues.
Survey Methodology and Limitations
The survey participants were drawn from GitHub's monthly active users in the United States who had opted in to receive marketing communications. This sampling method means the results may not be representative of all developers or GitHub users.
The survey focused on the views of respondents and did not measure the actual environmental footprint of AI or individual software systems. However, the results do suggest that many developers are considering the environmental effects of the systems they create and use.
Comparison to General Population
When compared to the broader U.S. adult population, GitHub users showed a higher level of concern about climate change. For instance, 86% of GitHub users believed global warming is happening, compared to 68% of U.S. adults. Similarly, 82% of GitHub users found global warming personally important, versus 65% of U.S. adults.
GitHub users were also more likely to expect personal harm from global warming (68% vs. 45%) and harm to future generations (82% vs. 68%), and more worried about global warming overall (79% vs. 66%).
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Primary sources
GitHub en/get-started GitHub software-development/innersource GitHub githubnext/agentics GitHub en/githubReporting from
A survey of 1,039 GitHub users by GitHub and Yale found that 80% of developers are interested in tools for writing energy-efficient code. Nearly 75% also want best practices and measurement tools to reduce software's environmental impact. This indicates a developer desire for practical solutions to address software energy consumption.