Blauer Engel For FOSS (BE4FOSS)

In 2020, the German Environment Agency (German: Umweltbundesamt) released the award criteria for eco-certifying desktop software with the Blue Angel ecolabel (German: Blauer Engel). From 2021–2022, the BE4FOSS project under KDE Eco worked to advance eco-certification for resource and energy-efficient software in FOSS communities. Obtaining the Blue Angel ecolabel occurs in 3 steps: (1) Measure, (2) Analyze, and (3) Certify.

Benefits of obtaining the Blue Angel ecolabel include:

• Recognition of reaching high standards for environmentally-friendly software design,
• Differentiating free software from the alternatives,
• Increasing the appeal of adoption for consumers, and
• Promoting transparency in the ecological footprint of software.

Learn more in the KDE Eco handbook “Applying The Blue Angel Criteria To Free Software”.