Our thinking

Website carbon

17 February, 2023

There are more personal electronic devices than there are humans in the world, and each of these devices needs charging before they connect to data centres and transmission networks every time we go online. Which, let’s face it, we do a lot.  

And once you know that, it should be no surprise that this comes with a hefty environmental impact- the internet produces carbon emissions equal to or greater than the global aviation industry each year.

Now there is a simple way to see what role your business’s website plays in this. Website Carbon has developed a tool to calculate the carbon emissions attributed to a website. You can simply enter your web page URL, and Website Carbon spits out details of how much CO2 is produced every time someone visits your page, the website’s annual CO2 emissions, whether it is powered by sustainable energy and how it compares to other websites. It also offers some handy hints for reducing the footprint. For example, fewer words aren’t just a win for your time-pressed readers, but it turns out it’s also better for the planet.

It’s a quick and easy way of checking if that new website advertising your sustainablity strategy is actually part of the problem. And in the meantime, if you want some tips on minimising your personal digital footprint as you surf, this article has some handy tips for you. We’re off to delete some of our emails !

By Bertie Bateman