postmarketOS sustainability score: 34/100

No formal emissions disclosure exists. postmarketOS is a distributed open-source project with approximately one paid full-time developer (Clayton Craft) supported by community funding, and all other contributors are volunteers working remotely on their own devices. There are no physical offices, no company vehicles, and no energy-intensive installations. The only organisational energy use is a small set of hosted build and CI servers. Estimated total operational footprint is well under 100 tonnes CO₂e — making this one of the lowest-footprint entities scorable under SINK. Per the Q1 rubric, 'no data but estimated footprint under 1,000 tonnes — the planet barely notices this company's operations' scores 3. No national registry filing was found (the project is not a registered legal entity subject to mandatory GHG reporting in France, Germany, or the UK). BEGES/SECR/DEHSt checks returned no results.

No Scope 3 data has been published. The supply chain is among the simplest conceivable for any organisation: software-only output distributed freely over the internet, open-source dependencies with no manufacturing component, and a handful of hosted build servers. There is no physical product manufactured, no global procurement, no logistics chain, and no material goods. The project explicitly relies on existing hardware (old smartphones) rather than driving new device manufacture. Per the Q2 rubric, 'inherently simple/short/local supply chain with basic awareness' scores 2–3. The project's core purpose — extending device life to avoid new manufacturing — demonstrates inherent awareness of the upstream hardware supply chain's environmental significance, warranting score 3.

No formal emissions trajectory data exists. The project has not grown its physical operational footprint in terms of offices, staff, or energy-intensive infrastructure over the 2022–2025 period. Financial records published on their blog confirm the project ran on modest donations (adding €8,857 to balance in FY2024), with no indication of expanding emission-generating activities. The project is a small, stable, distributed volunteer operation. Per the Q3 rubric, 'small company with stable or shrinking operations — reasonable to infer stable or declining emissions' scores 3. No absolute reduction evidence exists, so a higher score is not warranted.

No formal renewable energy strategy or green tariff is documented. The project's energy consumption is negligible: developers work from home on personal devices, and infrastructure consists of a small number of hosted servers whose hosting provider's energy mix is unconfirmed. No on-site energy generation or green energy tariff evidence was found. Per the Q4 rubric, 'minimal energy consumer with some evidence of environmental awareness, even without formal energy strategy' scores 3. Given the project's explicitly stated sustainability mission and near-zero energy footprint, this is the appropriate anchor point. A higher score requires documented renewable coverage.

postmarketOS has no direct nature or biodiversity impact. It is a software-only project with no land use, no deforestation risk, no physical manufacturing, and no ecosystem-disturbing operations. No TNFD disclosure exists. However, by enabling devices to remain in use for years beyond their manufacturer-supported lifecycle, the project indirectly reduces demand for new smartphone manufacturing — which carries significant upstream nature impacts through mining for rare earth minerals and lithium. Per the Q5 rubric, a company with 'genuinely negligible nature impact and awareness of that fact scores 4–5.' The project's explicit mission to counter planned obsolescence is documented and evidences this awareness.

postmarketOS has no significant direct material use or waste stream of its own. However, its entire core mission is to extend the working life of consumer electronics — a documented, published, and practically implemented form of circular economy contribution at societal scale. The project explicitly targets a 10-year smartphone lifecycle, directly reducing e-waste from billions of discarded devices. The project's website states its mission as 'Aiming for a 10 year life-cycle for smartphones.' Research indicates extending a smartphone's life by 24 months roughly halves its annualised environmental footprint, and the WEEE Forum estimates 5.3 billion mobile phones became waste in 2022. No formal circularity targets or metrics for the project's own small operations exist, which caps the score below 6. Score 5 reflects the well-evidenced, mission-embedded circularity ethos with documented public commitment.

postmarketOS has negligible water consumption. As a distributed software project with no physical offices, no manufacturing, and no chemical processes, there is no meaningful direct water footprint and no pollution risk. No water data has been published, but none is needed to establish the impact is near zero. Per the Q7 rubric, 'companies with genuinely low water impact (e.g. SaaS, consultancy) and awareness of that fact score 4–6.' The floor of 4 is appropriate here given confirmed near-zero impact with no formal monitoring or published data.

No SBTi registration, no science-based targets, and no formal emissions reduction targets were found. The project does not use offsets. The project's stated mission — extending smartphone life to 10 years — functions as a documented, public, sustainability-oriented commitment, and this is consistently communicated across the project website, blog, and external coverage. However, this is a mission statement about product purpose, not a formal operational emissions target with measurable milestones or third-party verification. Per the Q8 rubric, the absence of formal targets is not offset by mission statements. Score 3 reflects the genuine sustainability intent and documented mission without formal operational targets. No SBTi check yielded a result for postmarketOS.

postmarketOS publishes its finances publicly via OpenCollective and blog posts, including a detailed financial update for FY2024 published in March 2025. Financial decisions are taken by a democratically elected Finance Team with documented governance. Core Contributors govern the project collectively. The sustainability mission is documented publicly on the project website and in interviews (Association for Progressive Communications, APC, 2024). There is no dedicated sustainability role, no board oversight of sustainability, no CSRD or TCFD reporting, and no executive compensation linked to environmental targets, which caps the score. Score 4 reflects a documented, publicly stated sustainability priority with basic governance evidence and key data available.

No controversies, regulatory actions, greenwashing findings, or environmental criticism were found in any search. postmarketOS has no lobbying activity, no trade association memberships, no fossil fuel exposure, and no structural enablement of high-emission commerce. It is a volunteer-driven open-source project with no political donation history and no adverse coverage from InfluenceMap, BankTrack, Insure Our Future, DeSmog, or any other specialist NGO tracker. Starting at 8, no deductions apply. The project's mission — countering planned obsolescence and reducing e-waste — is directionally aligned with environmental improvement. Score 8.