Nextcloud as first cloud software to get the Blauer Engel ecolabel for green IT

Can green IT for sustainable, eco-friendly software solutions exist?

Over the last few years, the energy consumption in IT has seen a significant increase. Data centers expanded with higher demand in connectivity and a surge in data flows as well as AI developments. At the same time, some Big Tech companies are scaling back climate commitments, favoring coal-powered or nuclear energy to meet demand.

These trends seem to indicate that scalability and sustainability can not go hand in hand, and that tech growth has got to come at a cost: either performance or climate has to suffer.

At Nextcloud, we have been out on a mission to prove that powerful, sovereign software can also be sustainable. And now, our efforts have been rewarded.

On June 11^th, Nextcloud became the first cloud software platform to be awarded the Blauer Engel ecolabel. This respected and independent certification marks a product’s resource and energy efficiency.

Awarded by the German Federal Environmental Agency, this certification marks a milestone in sustainable IT, and sets a benchmark for others to follow.

As our CEO and founder Frank Karlitschek puts it, software that reduces energy use and resource consumption also reduces external dependencies and extends the lifespan of existing systems. In other words, designing for efficiency also means designing for control, resilience, and long-term value.

Green IT for software: why it matters

As AI is booming, data centers are becoming one of the fastest-growing sources of energy consumption. A recent study showed that AI already accounts for up to a fifth of the electricity that data centers use.

But data centers and their hardware are only part of the story.

At the end of the day, it’s software that determines what resources are used, how often systems need replacing, and how infrastructure can be maintained over time.

While there are frameworks in place for hardware compliance, for example to ensure safety and reliability, software has remained largely unregulated. And this while software has a major influence on system-level consumption and hardware lifespan.

That’s where the Blauer Engel (in English: Blue Angel) ecolabel comes in.

The German Environment Agency (UBA) cooperated with the Öko-Institut and Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld to develop this label that marks the resource and energy-efficiency of software.

Independent auditors carry out the assessments for the software under real-world conditions, using measurable standards and answering questions such as:

• Can the software be operated energy-efficiently?
• Can the software manufacturer provide transparency around the consumption?
• Does the software comply with sustainability for its technical aspects, like modular design and compatibility with older system?
• Can the software manufacturer offer openness of interfaces, data portability, and documentation?

These scrutinous questions ensure the label only awards software that reduces hardware churn, saves energy, and supports long-term digital strategies, for Enterprise as well as public institutions.

Nextcloud: Green IT meets digital sovereignty

At Nextcloud, our mission has always been to put control back in the hands of users, from individuals and universities to public administrations and large enterprises.

Our platform combines real-time collaboration tools, file sharing, communication, and productivity apps, all deployed on infrastructure you control, either privately hosted or in a cloud you trust.

And we do this while staying true to a few key principles:

• Open source: Our code is open source, community-driven, and regularly audited.
• Digital sovereignty: You can choose where your company’s data lives and who can access it.
• Sustainability: Our values emphasizes resource efficiency, modularity, and longevity.

We’ve always believed that these principles go hand in hand. With the Blauer Engel ecolabel, we now have the certification to prove it.

If we want sustainable digital infrastructure, we need to look at the software itself. Nextcloud shows that it’s possible to design cloud applications that run efficiently and transparently — and that meet measurable environmental standards.

Arne Tarara

CEO of Green Coding Solutions

Ready to join the green IT revolution?

While Big Tech cloud providers are investing in nuclear reactors and coal power plants to feed their operations, Nextcloud demonstrates that cloud software can scale responsibly and transparently.

With this Blauer Engel certification, Nextcloud sets a new benchmark for the industry: sustainability in IT is not a luxury, but a requirement for a future-proof digital infrastructure.

Because from public institutions to Enterprise business, Nextcloud offers a digitally sovereign, green IT cloud platform, built for transparency, efficiency, and long-term control.