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If you run a website, there are a whole lot of ways you can make sure it is green, even if the content has nothing to do with the environment. By taking the following six steps, you can easily and effectively lighten your website's carbon footprint.
- Get a green web host
There are a lot of earth-friendly web hosts—many that use solar or wind power to run their operation, use carbon offsets, and do everything to maximize their efficiency. Taking one of them up as your web host can help reduce your website's carbon footprint right from the start without you having to make any effort whatsoever. - Use green energy for your computers, data servers and other IT equipment
In many areas, consumers have access to renewable energy for their power needs. Consider installing solar panels or wind turbines to help transfer your energy requirements to renewable resources. If you're unable to do this right away, try calling up your utility company to see if they provide energy from renewable resources. More and more utilities are purchasing energy from wind farms, solar arrays, or other renewable energy providers, and you might be a lucky recipient of energy from these sources. - Use Energy Star certified and EPEAT rated equipment
The technological improvements for IT equipment never seems to slow. Thankfully, those advancements include energy efficiency. Choose energy efficient equipment that utilizes recycled and/or recyclable materials, avoids hazardous substances, and is upgradable to ensure that your equipment is evergreen. Check out resources like EPEAT and Energy Star to help you make informed decisions about your equipment. - Nix the super fancy animations
Animations can cause your visitors to use up more power since their computer has to draw extra energy to display the graphics. Help out your customers and lighten your website's CO2 load by ditching unnecessary animated graphics such as splash pages and animated advertisements. It's a small and simple move that can make an impact, especially if you have a lot of visitors. - Make your materials printer friendly
If you have a lot of articles and information on your site, format them to be printer friendly or add a "print" button that does the formatting for the person. You might want to add a note next to the button to "Use Sparingly" to remind visitors about the impact of printing materials unnecessarily. An even bigger plus would be adding a link to free software that minimizes printer use, such as GreenPrint. - Carbon Tracking and Offsets
Making the moves we've discussed can do a lot to minimize your website's carbon footprint. But it may not neutralize it. You can take the extra steps to go carbon neutral with a click of your mouse. CO2Stats is a service that tracks your website's energy consumption, makes it more efficient wherever possible, and allows you to purchase carbon offsets to neutralize your website's remaining impact.
Combating climate change requires as much reduction as possible first, and offsets second. Because reducing your footprint is so important, we strongly recommend taking the all the steps you can to reduce your carbon emissions, then offsetting whatever impact remains as a final step.
Hosting and Equipment:
Design:
The Extra Step:
For more on using the Internet for green good-doing, check out these Planet Green articles:
10 Ways to Green Your Life with the Internet
6 Ways to Offset Your Web Surfing Emissions
Eco-Friendly Internet Destinations
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