Member Story
How Chris Adams of the Green Web Foundation and Aya Saed of Scope3 built the GSF Policy Radar — a shared, transparent tool tracking forthcoming green software legislation — and established the Policy Working Group as the connective tissue between technical expertise and policy action.
Organisations involved
May 2025
Policy Radar ratified — a shared public database of upcoming green software legislation
5
Core principles guiding the PWG — legitimacy, opportunity, consistency, transparency, accountability
GHG Protocol
Formal consultation response submitted, advocating for granular time- and location-sensitive emissions data
The Problem
In 2024, many technology and sustainability professionals across GSF’s membership were facing the same challenge: they couldn’t keep up with new environmental legislation. While guidance on existing regulations was available, there was far less visibility into developing legislation — the bills being drafted, the consultations being opened, the deadlines approaching. By the time organisations heard about a new regulation, the consultation period was often over.
The problem was compounded by fragmentation. As Aya Saed put it: “There is still a critical gap between recognizing the challenges related to the physical impact of technologies and having practical solutions that balance economic growth with efficiency and sustainability.” Member organisations were each trying to track policy developments independently, duplicating effort and missing critical windows for engagement.
The Policy Working Group’s approach was deliberately nonpartisan: not lobbying, not advocacy, but convening, clarifying, and educating — making the technical expertise of the green software community available to the policymakers who needed it most.
The Journey
March 2024
Chris Adams, Director of Technology and Policy at the Green Web Foundation, proposed building a shared, transparent view of the evolving policy landscape — a collaborative public calendar of upcoming policy events where members could track what was coming and coordinate responses. The Green Web Foundation, active in both GSF and the W3C community, was uniquely positioned to bridge the technical standards world and the policy world.
About the Policy Radar project →March 2024
The Policy Working Group's first formal policy endorsement. The Act recognised that AI computational operations were doubling every 10 months, that generating a single AI image consumes 1.35 kWh of energy, and that AI energy use could reach 85–134 terawatt hours annually by 2027 — as much as the Netherlands consumes. GSF's endorsement called for mandated studies on AI's environmental impacts, an AI Environmental Impacts Consortium, and a voluntary reporting framework for AI developers.
Read why the GSF endorsed the AI Environmental Impacts Act →May 2025
The database went live at policy-radar.greensoftware.foundation, providing an overview of upcoming policy events — open consultations, new active and passed laws — covering affected territories, relevant areas in green software, deadlines, ways to get involved, and how regulations may affect specific groups. As Chris Adams stated: "Knowing which laws are coming and when to engage in the policy making process is half of the battle."
Read about the Policy Radar ratification →June 2025
Aya Saed, Director of AI Policy and Strategy at Scope3, brought experience as Counsel and Legislative Director in the U.S. House of Representatives. As she explained: "Drawing from my experience with Congress, I've seen firsthand how decision-makers struggle to navigate this territory without comprehensive, technically grounded frameworks. My goal is to help make this Working Group the connective tissue between technical expertise and policy action."
Read about Aya Saed's election as PWG co-chair →August 2025
The group published a refined mission statement aligned with the UN Global Compact Guide for Responsible Corporate Engagement in Climate Policy, establishing five principles — legitimacy, opportunity, consistency, transparency, and accountability. The PWG defined what it would not do: no endorsing specific legislation, no lobbying as a primary activity, no partisan positions. Instead: converting complex research into clear frameworks and facilitating evidence-based dialogue.
Read the PWG mission statement →2025–2026
The PWG moved from tracking to active participation: coordinating responses to the New York Senate's Corporate Climate Accountability Act; engaging with the European Green Digital Coalition; tracking state-level AI regulations across the US; and submitting a formal response to the GHG Protocol Scope 2 consultation, advocating for time- and location-sensitive emissions data. The GHG Protocol submission drew directly on GSF's SCI standard, arguing that annual averages and broad geographic boundaries don't give software engineers the granularity they need to act.
Read why GSF participated in the GHG Protocol Scope 2 consultation →One of the biggest challenges is the fragmentation of the policy landscape. There's no centralised authority setting energy standards for software, and existing regulatory frameworks often lag far behind the pace of digital innovation. But that's also where the opportunity lies: to influence upstream decisions — procurement, design, infrastructure — that shape emissions before they ever occur.
Aya Saed, Director of AI Policy and Strategy, Scope3
Who came together
Chris Adams
Director of Technology and Policy
Green Web Foundation
Proposed the Policy Radar project, chairs the Policy Working Group, and bridges the technical standards world and the policy world through his active membership in both GSF and W3C communities.
Aya Saed
Director of AI Policy and Strategy
Scope3
Elected co-chair of the Policy Working Group in June 2025, bringing legislative experience from the U.S. House of Representatives and applied expertise in measuring emissions across digital supply chains.
In their words
"As we face a surge of new environmental legislation, navigating the complexities of greening software and emissions reporting is increasingly daunting. Knowing which laws are coming and when to engage in the policy making process is half of the battle, and this project helps members address environmental impacts proactively, with integrity, and to ensure compliance with evolving standards. "
Chris Adams
Director of Technology and Policy, Green Web Foundation
"There is still a critical gap between recognizing the challenges related to the physical impact of technologies and having practical solutions that balance economic growth with efficiency and sustainability. And this is where the PWG steps in — not through lobbying, but through convening, clarifying, and educating relevant stakeholders on the real impact of our technological reality. "
Aya Saed
Director of AI Policy and Strategy, Scope3
"Rather than traditional lobbying, we focus on translating our deep technical expertise into accessible insights that inform better policy decisions around software sustainability. "
Policy Working Group
Mission statement
A shared lens to help understand the regulatory landscape for greening software.
Providing practical solutions that balance economic growth with efficiency and sustainability.
Translating technical expertise into insights for policymakers.
We're advocating for carbon accounting standards that give practitioners the actionable data they need to reduce software emissions.
GSF endorses bill that shows promise to shape a future for Green AI.
Visit the Policy Radar to see what legislation could affect your organisation. GSF members can submit new policies and participate in the Policy Working Group's consultation responses — ensuring your voice reaches policymakers before regulations are finalised.
Browse the Policy Radar at policy-radar.greensoftware.foundation
