Your internet use is not as clean as you think. The production and running of digital technologies between all internet users around the world accounts for 1.7 billion tonnes1 of greenhouse gas emissions annually – more carbon than is created by all of the air traffic in the world.
As we reach for our devices to share images, research information, send messages and stream music, how can we stop ourselves from being part of the problem? With Internet sales accounting for approximately 30% of all retail sales2 (a 200% increase over the last ten years), the popularity of the Internet doesn’t look like it will slow anytime soon.
Carbon Emissions from the Web Expected to Double
Internet use currently creates 3.7% of all global carbon emissions and is expected to double by 20253 as internet usage increases more than ever.
One of the biggest ways to help cut C02 emissions created by the internet is to use websites which are green-hosted. Unlike traditional web servers that use fossil fuels, green web hosting uses renewable energy sources and energy-efficient technology which helps to hugely reduce carbon emissions to combat the damaging effects of climate change.
If every online business in the UK adopted green web hosting services, it would save 320,000 megatonnes of UK carbon emissions per year*.
Lawrence Harmer, founder of Solve (a leading green hosting provider in the UK), explains why switching to green hosting is vital for businesses who care about the planet:
“The average website produces as much CO2 as taking a 5,000-mile road trip4. Website owners have an opportunity to vastly reduce this impact by using a green hosting provider. We’re not just making vague claims about the positive effects of energy-efficient data centres: we’re making real and significant changes. Green hosting not only drastically cuts your own website’s carbon emissions, but it also differentiates your brand from less eco-aware competitors and appeals to consumers who care about their impact on the world.”
64 million unnecessary emails are sent in the UK every single day, so another easy way to stop generating unnecessary carbon emissions from your internet use is to think before you click send. Ovo Energy reports that if we stop sending one ‘thank you’ email a day, we could collectively save 16,433 tonnes of carbon a year5 (equivalent to 81,152 flights to Madrid).
We can’t sit back and wait for the internet to become net zero – it’s today’s emissions that cause tomorrow’s climate change. We all need to take full responsibility for our digital carbon footprint today and change our internet habits now for the future.
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