The Environmental Cost of Digital

Here’s something that might shock you: the internet has a carbon footprint larger than the airline industry. That sleek website you’ve been perfecting? It might be secretly undermining your company’s sustainability goals.

Most businesses have no idea their digital products have an environmental impact at all, designing websites and apps without considering their energy consumption. But the numbers paint a startling picture. If the internet were ranked as a country, it would be the sixth largest polluter globally, with emissions rivalling Germany’s. By 2040, experts predict digital technology will consume a staggering 14% of the world’s electricity—more than tripling its current usage.

And with AI entering the picture? The energy demands are rocketing. A single ChatGPT query can devour 100 times more energy than a standard Google search, according to OpenAI’s own CEO. But before you unplug your router in despair, there’s good news: small, intentional changes in how we approach digital design can make a significant difference. Here are five practical strategies your team can implement today.

Give the Planet a Seat at the Table

When was the last time your project kickoff included environmental considerations? Probably never. Try this: next time you create a project RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) chart, add the planet as a legitimate stakeholder. It sounds strange, but it works. Having someone physically represent environmental concerns in meetings changes the conversation completely. Suddenly, people start asking different questions: Do we really need that video background? Could we compress these images further? By designating a team member to act as the planet’s proxy in consultations, this includes an environmental impact update in your regular project communications. Small procedural changes like these can shift your team’s mindset dramatically.

Take it further by including environmental considerations in your standard documentation. When drafting user stories, add climate-focused requirements: “As the planet, I need this webpage to load efficiently so it minimises energy consumption.” This approach integrates sustainability directly into your product development workflow rather than treating it as an afterthought.

Establish a Climate Budget

The internet is getting fatter. According to HTTP Archive’s state of the web report, the median webpage has more than doubled in size over the past decade—from 1.08MB in 2014 to a whopping 2.75MB today.

Heavier pages mean higher energy consumption. Every unnecessary kilobyte has an environmental cost. Just like you’d set a financial budget for a project, set a climate budget. Decide on maximum page weights, loading times, and server requests before development begins. This creates a collaborative challenge that engages your entire team. Designers look for ways to simplify layouts, content strategists focus on conciseness, and developers hunt for optimisation opportunities.

The result? Websites that not only perform better but also consume less energy in the process.

Make the Planet Your Toughest Critic

Design critiques and code reviews are standard practices for improving digital products. Now imagine if someone was specifically tasked with asking, “But how does this affect our carbon footprint?” Sometimes the simplest question—’Do we really need this feature?’—leads to both a better user experience and a greener website. By formalising environmental considerations in your review process, you ensure they don’t get overlooked in the rush to launch.

Measure What Matters

Unlike smoke from a factory chimney, digital pollution isn’t immediately visible. That’s what makes it so insidious—and so often ignored. You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so establish your current digital carbon footprint as a baseline. Free tools like Website Carbon Calculator, Digital Beacon, and Ecograder can provide initial assessments. Examine your hosting provider’s renewable energy credentials—The Green Web Foundation maintains a directory of environmentally responsible options.

The key is to make your commitment visible. Set realistic targets, implement changes, and publicly share your progress. Sustainability isn’t a destination—it’s an ongoing journey.

A Collective Responsibility

As our digital consumption expands, its environmental impact grows with it. The projected 40 billion internet-connected devices by 2030 will require enormous energy resources—much of it still coming from non-renewable sources.

The good news? Every optimisation, every streamlined process, and every mindful decision adds up. By making the planet a true stakeholder in your digital projects, you’re contributing to a more sustainable future.

We’ve spent decades optimising websites for users and search engines, now it’s time to optimise for the planet too.