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20 May 2021 | Industry Insights

The carbon footprint of websites

The carbon footprint of websites 

Did you know that Netflix claims that one hour of streaming on its platform in 2020 used less than 100gCO2e – that’s less than driving an average car a quarter of a mile. However, multiply that figure by the sheer amount of time most of us spend streaming shows around the world and you begin to see the impact it has on global carbon emissions.

That is the stark findings of a recent report that revealed that the digital sector’s estimated contribution to global emissions ranges from 1.4 per cent to 5.9 per cent of the global total. Naturally, we were shocked to learn of this considering the number of people who watch Netflix and other streaming platforms throughout the world on a day-to-day basis.

But how does it work? Every time an activity is performed online, a few grams of carbon dioxide are emitted because of the energy required to run our devices and power the networks we access. This got us thinking about the impact that all websites are having on our planet. We went away and did a little digging to find out how much CO2 our own website is emitting into the atmosphere.

We found that our homepage produces around 26kg of CO2 equivalent per year. That is enough electricity to drive an electric car 358km or boiling enough water for 3,596 cups of tea. Emissions from websites are unavoidable in the digital world we live in, however, there are ways to offset this meaning you can still reduce your impact on the planet. After finding out the carbon footprint of our website we decided to act, planting enough trees to offset the emissions of our website for four years. We are also exploring a plethora of avenues to further offset and operate as sustainably as possible.

Whether it be the carbon footprint of websites or the built environment, without being prompted or without access to the data, we cannot manage what we cannot measure.

It is incredibly difficult to truly measure a building’s greenhouse gas emissions without having the right technology in place such as a Twinview digital twin.

Twinview moves your building closer to Net Zero by unlocking data and using artificial intelligence to identify trends and opportunities. Book a demo today to find out how Twinview can help you reduce your building’s carbon footprint and operational costs whilst improving efficiency and occupier experience.

Source: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/netflix-carbon-footprint