The archive was founded by Professor of Software Engineering Patricia Lago, who also leads VU Amsterdam’s Software and Sustainability research group. “We get a lot of questions from lots of different people about making IT more sustainable”, Lago says. “The Archive of Awesome and Dark Tactics aims to support and accelerate the digital sustainability transition. We not only share awesome tactics, which are best practices, but also dark tactics, which are examples of what not to do.”
The archive offers information on how to reduce energy consumption, and on how to reduce the footprint of the digital presence of IT solutions. Contributors who share their own awesome tactics are extensively credited on the archive’s website. Existing tactics can be supplemented by other users.
The catalogue is easy to navigate thanks to the use of tags and categories. Contributions can also be added through GitHub, or by filling in a form and submitting it, after which the tactic is uploaded to the archive. Read more about how this works on the website.