As leaders in sustainability, we are always reflecting on ways we can be better, which is why we’ve launched our new cleaner and greener website.
The Internet is responsible for nearly 1 billion tonnes of CO2, or about 10% of total global electricity usage. This is because millions of servers around the world, which deliver websites and applications like this one, are powered by dirty fossil fuels, contributing to our climate crisis and to pollution in our communities.
We knew we needed the right partner; a design studio with the expertise to guide us through the process and one that shared values in reducing our carbon impact and mitigating the climate crisis. Throughout development, the team at Manoverboard took a number of steps to reduce the environmental impact of our website:
- They created a page budget to limit the size of pages that load in the browser.
- The website only loads the specific image size that is required for the users’ screen. This saves data from being transferred, which saves energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
- Images are compressed to remove unnecessary data. This saves a ton of digital information from being downloaded from servers.
- The website and database uses caching technologies to help prevent files that have already been downloaded from being downloaded again.
- The site also uses “lazy loading” technology to load the images that you see first — the images at the bottom of a page only load when you scroll there.
- The site is also hosted with Green Geeks, a company that purchases three times as many Renewable Energy Credits as it consumes.
But Manoverboard didn’t stop there. It’s with huge gratitude that we accept a donation from their 1% for the Planet commitment, where one percent of their revenue is donated each year to a few selected nonprofits that are making a substantial difference in the world. Thank you for your commitment to protecting the planet.