Blue Angel eco-certification | funding for application fees

[Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss]

For replies, please include joseph at kde.org.

Hi developers of Kate, Krita, KDE Itinerary, GCompris, and Kdenlive,

I am reaching out to some KDE projects that might be interested in Blue 
Angel eco-certification.

The Umweltbundesamt (Federal German Environment Agency) has recently 
made funds available for Free & Open Source Software developers who 
would like to apply for the Blue Angel eco-label. These funds will cover 
application fees. Unfortunately, they will not cover the expenses for 
measuring software's energy consumption or for the application auditors. 
See below for details. That said, KDE Eco can help with the measurement 
process using KEcoLab tooling:

   https://invent.kde.org/sdk/kecolab

If you think your projects might be interested in pursuing 
eco-certification, this may be a good opportunity for you. At the time 
of writing, six software products have been certified.

  
https://www.blauer-engel.de/de/produktwelt/software/ressourcen-und-energieeffiziente-softwareprodukte

KDE Eco published a handbook for certifying Free & Open Source Software 
with the Blue Angel. Although this handbook was based on v.1 of the 
criteria -- and the current criteria v.4 are slightly different (see 
link above for the criteria) -- the information for desktop software is 
still generally applicable.

   https://eco.kde.org/handbook/

I thought this news might be of interest to you. Feel free to be in 
touch with any questions, comments, etc. Note: I will be on vacation 
until 3 December. Please be patient with replies.

All the best,
Joseph


== ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ==

What/who is eligible for funding?

Applicants for Blue Angel DE-UZ 215 who do not generate any revenue with 
their Free & Open Source Software and for whom the application fees and 
annual fees represent a significant hurdle can apply for funding. The 
total amount of funding is limited, so funding can only be granted as 
long as there is sufficient funding available.

What costs are covered?

The application fees (€600) and annual fees until December 31, 2027 
(current term of the award criteria) are covered. Depending on the 
contract term, a maximum funding amount of €1,650 is possible per 
application. Consulting or audit costs are not covered.

How can I apply for funding?

When applying for Blue Angel DE-UZ 215 on the web portal 
(portal.ral-umwelt.de), please indicate in a cover letter that you are 
applying for funding. They will then check with the Federal German 
Environment Agency to see if you are eligible for funding and get back 
to you.


-- 
Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss (he/him)
KDE Eco Project & Community Manager
OpenPGP: 8FC5 4178 DC44 AD55 08E7 DF57 453E 5746 59A6 C06F
Matrix: @joseph:kde.org

Generally available Monday-Thursday from 10-16h CET/CEST. Outside of 
these times it may take a little longer for me to respond.

KDE Eco: Building Energy-Efficient Free Software!
Website: https://eco.kde.org
Mastodon: @be4foss at floss.social