Web sustainability

Introduction

Disclaimer: This is a new space for us. Our goals are to become clean, efficient, open, honest, regenerative, and resilient. If you’re interested in this topic or have expertise in this area, please email anatomy.team@bsci.com.

It’s easy to overlook the energy consumption needed to run the internet, or that websites and digital apps have a carbon footprint. But the internet — which necessitates data centers, provider networks, and devices — consumes a sizable amount of electricity.

In fact, by 2025, communications tech will emit more carbon than any country except China, India, and the U.S.

Where we are and how to improve

If you’re curious about the environmental impact of the Boston Scientific corporate site, this calculator provides an estimate. It also suggests ways to improve our carbon footprint. The following are actionable steps to keep in mind as we move forward.

Good SEO

SEO helps users complete their online searches. Good SEO will help users complete their searches easily and, more important, quickly. A quick search means less time online and a lowered consumption of energy.

Efficient content writing

Similar to good SEO, efficient content writing shortens time spent browsing websites in search of relevant information. If the user wishes to spend time reading through all of our content, great. But the user should not have to waste time reading through irrelevant content. Saving the user’s time saves energy.

Good UX

The theme of these first three improvements is “Don’t waste the user’s time”. Good UX, like good SEO and efficient content writing, simplifies the user’s search, saving time and limiting wasted effort.

Judicious use of images and video

Images and videos are the largest contributors to online waste. Image and video content can be optimized. But designers and marketers should consider the necessity of the image or video.

Eye tracking studies show that people generally don’t even focus on images and subconsciously ignore the image altogether. A Nielsen Norman Group study found:

Text attracts attention before graphics
78% of the users’ first three eye-fixations were on text while only 22% were on graphics
Users were first drawn to headlines, article summaries, and captions
Users often did not look at the images at all until the second or third visit to a page

A few considerations:

Does the image or video add value to the user?
If working with an image
- Could the image be smaller and remain effective?
- Can the image be replaced by an SVG (vector) or CSS?
- Avoid using carousels — images that aren’t visible to the user are still using energy (see Carousels for more information).
If working with a video
- Can the video be shortened and remain effective?
- Never auto-play videos

Limit font use

Limit the use of different fonts and font weights. The more custom font families used the more files a user must download.

Dark mode

Using darker colors can reduce the energy needed to illuminate white space on devices. But this guidance depends on the device’s screen. Dark mode doesn’t apply to LCD screens, which are permanently backlit. But OLED screens light up each pixel individually, making dark mode an energy saver.

Write clean code

Streamlined code limits wasted energy on computing duplicate or inefficient code. This guideline also applies to external plugins, frameworks, or libraries.

Quotes

Some eye-opening quotes about the future of web sustainability and the impact of the internet.

Don’t put something out there unless it matters to you and your audience. If you publish something useless, you’re not only wasting time for yourself and your visitors, but also adding to the “weight” of your site and the web itself. There is an energy (and therefore emissions) cost for delivering digital content. So make it good for everyone’s sake.

Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media Studios

One conclusion from the 100+ social and environmental mission companies I have interviewed is that focusing on sustainability and being responsible leads to more effective business operations overall and as a result better financial performance.

Christopher Marquis, Better Business: How the B Corp Movement is Remaking Capitalism