When we talk about sustainability, we often think about transport, plastic use, or energy bills. But there’s a growing awareness of the digital carbon footprint—especially for organisations that operate largely online.
That includes healthcare associations and membership bodies, whose websites may be active 24/7, accessed across the globe, and packed with downloadable resources, videos, and interactive tools.
So: how green is your website?
This post explores what digital sustainability really means, how to assess your site’s footprint, and the steps you can take to reduce it—without compromising functionality.
What is a website’s carbon footprint?
Every time someone visits your website, data is transferred. Servers process requests, images load, videos stream, scripts run. All of this requires energy—and much of that energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels.
The more data-intensive your site, the more energy it uses.
Some factors that affect your digital footprint:
- Page weight (size of content loaded)
- Hosting location and energy source
- Use of video, animation, and imagery
- Third-party scripts and tracking tools
- Caching and content delivery networks
Multiply this by thousands of monthly visitors, and the impact becomes significant.
Why this matters for membership organisations
As mission-driven organisations, many associations already champion sustainability in healthcare, education, or research. Your website should reflect those same values.
A high-carbon website can:
- Undermine your sustainability goals
- Signal a lack of attention to digital best practice
- Create friction for users on slower connections
- Increase hosting and bandwidth costs
A low-carbon site, by contrast:
- Performs better
- Loads faster
- Costs less to run
- Demonstrates leadership
And with the increasing visibility of digital emissions (especially in the EU and UK), members and funders will start paying closer attention.
How to measure your website’s footprint
You can get a rough idea of your site’s environmental impact using online tools like:
- Website Carbon Calculator: Estimates CO₂ emissions per page view and per year
- Ecograder: Rates sustainability based on performance, hosting, and page design
- Beacon: An emerging tool for measuring website impact against net-zero goals
These tools will look at things like:
- Page size in MB
- Number of requests (images, scripts, fonts)
- Hosting energy source (renewable or not)
- Use of caching and compression
They’re not perfect, but they’re a great starting point.
What’s a “green” website target?
There’s no universal threshold, but good benchmarks include:
- Page weight: Under 1MB (ideal), under 2MB (acceptable)
- Fewer than 50 HTTP requests per page
- 100% renewable hosting
For example, the Website Carbon Calculator estimates that:
- A low-impact page emits ~0.1g CO₂ per visit
- A high-impact page can emit over 4g CO₂ per visit
That means 10,000 visits could produce 1kg to 40kg of CO₂—every month.
7 ways to reduce your website’s carbon footprint
Here’s how you can make meaningful improvements without sacrificing quality.
1. Optimise images
Large, uncompressed images are a major culprit.
- Use next-gen formats (WebP or AVIF)
- Resize images to display dimensions (don’t rely on CSS scaling)
- Compress images with tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel
2. Minimise video use
Videos are data-heavy. Use sparingly and strategically.
- Avoid auto-play
- Host off-platform (YouTube embeds are generally more efficient)
- Provide transcripts or slides as lower-impact alternatives
3. Clean up your code
Bloated code = longer load times and more energy use.
- Minify CSS, JS, and HTML
- Remove unused plugins or scripts
- Consolidate styles and scripts where possible
4. Choose green hosting
Not all hosting is created equal.
- Opt for providers powered by 100% renewable energy (like Kinsta, SiteGround, or GreenGeeks)
- Check data centre certifications (e.g. ISO 50001, LEED)
- Use CDN services that also prioritise sustainability (like Cloudflare)
5. Improve caching and performance
Faster sites are greener sites.
- Enable browser caching and server-side caching
- Use lazy loading for images and iframes
- Reduce redirect chains and broken links
6. Reduce tracking and third-party scripts
Analytics tools, ad scripts, and social embeds all add weight.
- Only use what you need
- Switch to lightweight alternatives (e.g. Plausible instead of Google Analytics)
- Load scripts asynchronously
7. Reassess content design
Not everything needs to be interactive or media-rich.
- Use lightweight layouts
- Avoid unnecessary sliders, animations, or parallax
- Design for function, not flash
Digital sustainability isn’t all or nothing
You don’t need to rebuild your site from scratch to make it greener. Start small, track improvements, and build sustainability into your long-term strategy.
For example:
- Optimise your most-visited pages first
- Set quarterly sustainability goals (e.g. 20% reduction in page weight)
- Include digital sustainability in your digital strategy and reporting
Over time, these small steps lead to major impact.
What we’re doing at More Time To
We’ve made sustainability a core part of our service. That includes:
- Running page weight audits as part of every Supercharge Plan
- Recommending renewable hosting providers
- Building low-impact designs with performance in mind
- Helping clients write and publish digital sustainability statements
Because we believe your website should reflect the same care and responsibility you bring to the rest of your mission.
Final thought
Your website might be invisible—but its environmental impact isn’t.
By thinking about page weight, performance, and hosting choices, you can turn your site into a positive example of low-carbon digital practice.
It’s good for your users. It’s good for the planet. And it’s easier than you think.
Ready to make your website more sustainable? Let’s talk.
