The operation of website consumes energy- something we ought not ignore when considering environmental impacts, since this often contributes heavily towards our carbon footprints. This arises from usage of servers, data centers and networks responsible for hosting, transmitting or accessing web data which results ultimately in greenhouse gas emissions like CO2 that adversely affect climate change.
Understanding the specific effects associated with your site demands factors such as location of the server itself (considering proximity from green-energy localities ) or type of power-source; efficiency concerns regarding cooling systems utilized too cannot be overlooked.
The level traffic reaching your site can be key too since this directly influences consumption levels translating into greater carbon footprint generation. As would the design patterns used in your site development efforts: more elaborate animation specifications, bigger media sizes eg images and videos tend towards greater levels of consumed power hence higher carbon footprints when compared against far simpler designs
Practical steps aimed at curbing these emissions must be adopted by all operators thus ensuring we reduce our carbon footprint accordingly: ideal steps can be obtaining service providers committed to sustainability (with emphasis of dedication towards renewable energy); reducing website sizes and complexity or optimizing site speed as an example.
For instance, smallpage achieves these goals by harnessing 100% renewable energy in hosting its websites, ensuring high server efficiency (40% greater than competitors eg Godaddy) thereby geared essentially towards conservation efforts within the industry.