You’ve probably heard of what a carbon footprint is, but what is an online carbon footprint? Although it may sound absurd, scrolling through social media and using the internet actually contribute to carbon emissions. We want other environmental businesses to be aware on how they can tweak their websites to lower their online carbon footprint.
According to Science Focus, a study that was done by the Boston Consulting Group found that all technology devices combined emit around 1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses per year!
When you use the internet, this requires electricity which is powered by burning fossil fuels that emit CO2 across the world. According to the BBC, the internet accounts for 3.7% of global greenhouse emissions, which is surprisingly similar to the amount produced by the aviation industry.
Here are a few ways to reduce fossil fuels emissions through your online carbon footprint:
Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees every time you search something up!
Unsubscribe from any useless mailing lists that you’re flooded with each day.
Only send emails when needed or those that have short messages. A study done by OVO energy found that sending one less ‘thank you’ email a day could save 16,500 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Downloading videos and music rather than streaming can help lower the energy your devices use.
For environmental businesses, you can calculate how much your website is contributing to CO2 emissions with this calculator . Creating websites that are as minimal as possible can help reduce this amount.
Comments