Software Sustainability and its Engineering: How Far Have We Come?

Prof. Dr. Patricia Lago was invited to deliver a keynote address titled “Software Sustainability and its Engineering: How Far Have We Come?” at the International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE) 2025, held in Ottawa Canada. Recognized for her leadership in sustainable software engineering, she was invited to reflect on the field’s progress and its real-world impact.

About the Keynote

Thanks to digital transformation, society has become increasingly dependent on software. While this dependency has brought important benefits, it has also introduced serious constraints. The societal role of software and its engineering is not new, nor is the demand for them to be sustainable. But what has “sustainable software” really meant in practice, and how much progress have we made?

Professor Lago’s keynote examined these fundamental questions. Her aim was to provoke reflection on the body of research produced so far, evaluate its tangible contributions, and consider its alignment with the complex and urgent problems facing both society and our planet.

🎥 Watch the keynote: YouTube Video
📑 View the slides: PDF Slides