Digital Sustainability: Why It Matters and How to Take Action

October 24, 2025
3 Min Read • 51 Views
Digital Sustainability: Why It Matters and How to Take Action

As digital technology continues to shape our world, it’s easy to forget that the internet, websites, and online advertising consume vast amounts of energy. Digital sustainability is about reducing the environmental footprint of our digital activities — from website design to marketing campaigns. In this blog, we’ll explore why digital sustainability matters, the latest developments like Google’s Carbon Footprint for Ads, and how tools like Everything Green’s GreenWeb platform and browser plugin can help businesses take real action.

What is Digital Sustainability — and Why Should You Care?

In simple terms, digital sustainability means ensuring that our digital activities — such as web hosting, cloud services, digital marketing, and data storage — are conducted in ways that minimize carbon emissions and energy use.

🌍 The ICT sector contributes about 2–3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

While this percentage might seem small, the exponential growth of online activity — video streaming, data center workloads, and device use — means the impact is increasing rapidly. Consumers and regulators now expect brands to address this issue head-on.

Why Websites & Digital Marketing Need to Be Part of the Conversation

Many assume that digital = clean. However, the reality is more complex. Every website visit consumes energy — from the user’s device to data centers and networks.

💡 The average website produces about 1.76g of CO₂ per page view — that’s over 200kg of CO₂ per year for 10,000 monthly visits.

Heavier websites, autoplay videos, and oversized images increase energy use. By optimizing site structure and hosting choices, businesses can make measurable carbon reductions.

Google’s New Carbon Footprint for Ads

Google recently launched the ‘Carbon Footprint for Google Ads‘ tool, enabling advertisers to measure the emissions generated by their ad campaigns. It aligns with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Ad Net Zero Global Media Sustainability Framework. This means marketers can now assess emissions alongside campaign performance metrics.

📊 Google’s tool allows advertisers to view emissions by Scope 1, 2, and 3 within its infrastructure.

This marks a major step forward in helping businesses include digital advertising within their overall sustainability reporting.

Everything Green’s GreenWeb Ecosystem: Powering the Next Step in Digital Sustainability

Everything Green has been at the forefront of sustainable digital practices, helping businesses measure and reduce the carbon footprint of their websites through Green SEO. Now, with the release of the new Everything Green browser plugin, the platform’s capabilities are expanding even further.

Key features of Everything Green’s new browser plugin include:

  • ✅ Real-time carbon score monitoring for any website you visit.
  • ✅ Breakdown of emissions by network, hosting, and traffic source.
  • ✅ Seamless integration with the GreenWeb Tool on everythinggreen.org for in-depth audits.
  • ✅ Easy-to-use interface for agencies to present live audits to clients.

You can explore and download the browser plugin here: https://www.everythinggreen.org/extension

Taking Action: How Businesses Can Start Today

  1. **Measure** your website’s carbon footprint using the GreenWeb Tool and plugin.
  2. **Optimize** images, scripts, and hosting for better energy efficiency.
  3. **Review** digital ad emissions using Google’s new Carbon Footprint tool.
  4. **Set goals** to reduce emissions per pageview or per campaign.
  5. **Report and communicate** progress in sustainability reports and marketing materials.

Final Thoughts

Digital sustainability isn’t just good for the planet — it’s good for business. Reducing digital carbon footprints improves site performance, builds customer trust, and positions your brand as a responsible leader in the digital era.

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