5 Surprising Ways Websites Contribute to Carbon Emissions

In a world that is predominantly driven by digital, it’s easy to think that online activities don’t impact the environment. 

However, every website, whether a simple blog, a standard marketing website or a complex e-commerce platform, contributes to carbon emissions. While the internet itself is often viewed as a cleaner alternative to physical processes, the reality is that it still has a carbon footprint. Here’s a breakdown of the ways websites create carbon emissions and how businesses can minimise their environmental impact.

1. Data Centres

Every website is hosted on a server located in a data centre, which requires significant energy to operate and stay cool. These data centres house thousands of servers that store and transmit data around the clock. According to studies, data centres account for about 1% of global electricity use, a significant portion of which is powered by non-renewable energy sources.

The Carbon Cost: When data centres run on fossil fuels, they emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This makes optimising the energy efficiency of servers a crucial step in reducing emissions.

Our website and those of our clients are hosted on Green Servers, run by companies that offer carbon offsetting and servers powered by renewable energy. If you are keen to make the switch get in touch.

2. Web Page Size and Load Times

Bigger Pages = Bigger Footprint 

The size of a web page directly affects the energy required to load it. Heavy pages with high-resolution images, videos, and complex scripts require more data to be transferred, increasing the load on data centres and user devices.

The Carbon Cost: Each megabyte transferred results in emissions. Websites with excessive multimedia content or bloated code not only slow down load times but also consume more energy.

We recommend that you optimise your website by compressing images, minimising the use of large media files, and streamlining code to make pages lighter and faster to load.

3. User Devices and Energy Use

Power Consumption on the Client Side 

The devices used to access websites—smartphones, laptops, tablets, etc.—also play a part in the total carbon emissions. The more complex a website, the more energy a user’s device must expend to process and display the content.

The Carbon Cost: The electricity required to power millions of devices worldwide contributes significantly to emissions. Interactive elements, animations, and poorly optimised scripts can drain device power faster, increasing energy usage. Simplify site designs and prioritise efficient code to reduce processing requirements on user devices.

4. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

Speed at a Cost

CDNs help distribute website content more efficiently by caching copies of a site’s data across multiple servers worldwide. This improves load times for users but can also increase energy consumption because each cached copy requires additional storage space and resources.

The Carbon Cost: While CDNs reduce the load on individual data centres, the collective energy used across the network still contributes to emissions. The energy efficiency of the CDN’s own infrastructure matters greatly. Always choose CDNs powered by renewable energy sources and make sure your site uses caching efficiently to avoid unnecessary data duplication.

5. User Behaviour and Site Design

Encouraging Energy-Intensive Actions 

The way a website is designed can encourage users to perform actions that consume more energy, such as streaming videos, downloading large files, or engaging in endless scrolling. Interactive features that auto-refresh or update in real-time can also increase data transfer.

The Carbon Cost: Websites with complex functionality or non-stop media playback can significantly elevate the energy required for both data transmission and user devices. Offer lower-resolution video options, avoid autoplaying media, and design user-friendly, efficient experiences that require fewer data-heavy actions.

How to Reduce Your Website’s Carbon Footprint

Reducing a website’s carbon emissions starts with thoughtful design and optimisation. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Host with Green Providers: Choose web hosts that use renewable energy or offset their emissions with carbon credits. We host via The Positive Internet Company, a superb business that operates 100% renewable energy powered data centres, innovates with tech to reduce energy consumption in its data centres and invests in rewinding and tree planting projects.
• Optimise Your Code: Streamline your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to reduce the server’s workload.
• Compress Files: Use tools to compress images, videos, and other media before uploading.
• Enable Caching: Ensure that repeat visitors do not have to reload all site elements from scratch.
• Monitor Performance: Use tools like WebPageTest or Website Carbon Calculator to see how your site is performing environmentally and where you can improve.