Green Agile
A structured extension of agile practices — with sustainability as a core concern
Agile methods have improved delivery speed. But their ecological, economic, and social impact often remains unclear.
This guide helps teams build software that lasts longer, consumes fewer resources, and supports team well-being — without adding new frameworks or process overhead.
It extends agile roles and artifacts with practical, sustainability-driven guidance.
Quick Access
Use the links below to explore key parts of the Green Agile Guide:
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Sustainability & Empiricism
Why agile practices are well-suited for sustainability — and how empirical loops help make impact visible and adaptable. -
Strategic Impact Planning
Bringing sustainability into the backlog: aligning business goals with ecological, economic, and social impact. -
Sustainable Iteration Planning
Making sustainable delivery part of every iteration — without compromising product goals or developer health. -
Outcome & Quality Anchoring
Defining quality in a way that includes environmental, economic, and social sustainability — every Sprint. -
Roles in Green Agile
Responsibility without new roles — how Product Leads, Developers, and Agile Coaches embed sustainability into their work.
Why this guide?
Agile methods have improved how software is delivered.
But they rarely address the long-term ecological, economic, or social impact of the systems we build.
This guide introduces a structured approach to integrate sustainability into agile product development — without adding organizational overhead.
It builds on the three established dimensions of sustainability:
- Ecological – Reduce energy consumption, emissions, and waste in software systems
- Economic – Support long-term maintainability and responsible use of resources
- Social – Protect team health, promote inclusion, and ensure ethical development
This is not a new framework. It is a focused extension of agile practices and roles, with sustainability as a core concern.
Current status
The Green Agile Guide is an independent initiative started by Marcel Russ, an experienced Agile Coach, sustainability advocate, and founder of mehr.wert Software und IT Beratung GmbH.
It builds on real-world experience from software delivery, scaled agile environments, and sustainability practices in enterprise IT.
The Green Agile Guide evolves through practical work with agile teams and reflects real-world challenges in aligning product development with sustainability goals.
A first version is already available and includes selected chapters, definitions, and metrics.
Curious to share your perspective or explore collaboration? Reach out anytime.
What’s inside
The Green Agile Guide is structured into focused sections.
Each area addresses a specific aspect of agile product development from a sustainability perspective.
Foundations
Values & Principles
Roles in Green Agile
Artefacts & Sustainability Anchors
Metrics & Impact
This section is currently in development…
All sections are written with practical application in mind. The structure follows agile terminology but introduces sustainability-related additions and clarifications.
Stay connected
The Green Agile Guide is growing — and we welcome feedback, ideas, and contributions.
If you want to stay informed or get involved, feel free to reach out.