Lessons learned leading sustainability tech at Microsoft and Amazon.
summary
Built an open source meter called Cloud Carbon Footprint that measures emissions from AWS Google and Azure and launched an enterprise product called Microsoft Sustainability Cloud; at Amazon created an automated product-footprint and certification pipeline and a supplier portal called Amazon Sustainability Exchange where suppliers upload carbon data centrally. Reports show sustainability teams are tiny—20–40 developers—while data center builds surge; sustainability wins come from changing contracts (RFP questions supplier code updates) and tying executive pay to net zero 2030/2040 commitments. AI often serves marketing and can accelerate fossil fuel activity.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (7)
- 0:00Sustainability tech leadership
- 1:54Career at Microsoft and Amazon
- 4:01Sustainability as process
- 10:10AI for sustainability marketing
- 13:20Sustainability as change management
- 20:14Road ahead and goals
- 28:49Conclusion and call to action
related talks
31mBridging Product and Engineering for a Greener Future: Embedding Sustainability into Software Teams
19mGreen Code on the Cloud: Integrating Sustainability into DevOps Practices
55mCode that Won't Heat the Planet: Engineering Sustainable Software for a Better Future
41mPlanet sends an SOS – Taking Responsibility for our Carbon Footprint
34mSustainable Software Engineering, Building Carbon-Efficient Applications
29mThe Planet as Our Stakeholder - Finding ways to a green future
29mPlanet Earth as our Stakeholder
27mDevGreenOps