You don’t have to be a frequent flyer to leave a so-called ecological footprint. Carbon dioxide emissions pollute the air where it aggravates climate change, which also happens by using the internet. Video streaming (Netflix, Zoom), crypto mining (Bitcoin) and gaming only represent the tip of the iceberg. Badly coded websites contribute to the destruction of the environment.
Sustainable Web Development
Sustainable web development can help to stop the destruction. Minimalism, optimization, and choosing eco-friendly service providers (Green IT) are measures that we commit ourselves to as signatories of the Sustainable Web Manifesto. A directory of sustainable web workers has been another step to establish sustainable web development.
Measurement
We have already been able to estimate loading times (web speed) and accessibility (a11y) of websites. The online tool Website Carbon Calculator tries to measure websites’ eco-friendliness, and so does Ecograder.
Also worth reading: Web Sustainability: What is it and how to approach it (by Ricardo Moreira).
