Here’s something that might surprise you: your website has a carbon footprint.
Every page load, every image, every email sent through your hosting account uses energy. And in most cases, that energy comes from data centres running on fossil fuels.
But here’s the good news: unlike a lot of environmental issues, this one has a straightforward fix.
The Scale of the Problem
Let’s talk numbers for a second, because they’re genuinely staggering.
The biggest data centre on the planet, south of Beijing, covers 600,000 square metres. That’s the equivalent of 110 football pitches. And that’s just one facility.
Michelle Thorne, who led Mozilla’s sustainability programme for years, puts it bluntly: the internet is “the largest coal-powered machine on the planet.” It produces more emissions than the entire aviation industry.
Read that again. The internet pollutes more than all the planes in the world combined.
Why It Actually Matters
I know. Climate change can feel overwhelming. It’s like trying to fix a leak when someone’s left the tap running at full blast. You make changes in your own life, switch your light bulbs, recycle your bottles, and meanwhile… well, you know the rest.
But here’s the thing: collective choices do matter. When enough people demand better, the industry responds. Green hosting isn’t niche anymore—it’s becoming the standard precisely because people started asking for it.
And honestly? Hosting is hosting. Your website doesn’t run slower on renewable energy. Your emails don’t arrive later. There’s literally no downside, and it’s one of the easiest environmental wins you can make for your business.
Check Your Current Host
The Green Web Foundation has a simple tool that lets you check whether your website is currently hosted green: https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/
Takes about five seconds. You might be pleasantly surprised. Or you might discover you’ve got some work to do.
[the internet is] the largest coal-powered machine on the planet
Michelle Thorne, Mozilla
If You Need to Switch, I Can Help
Switching hosts sounds like a faff, and it is. But if your current hosting isn’t green and you want to make the switch, I can handle the whole process for you. No stress, no downtime, no technical headaches.
It’s Not Just About Hosting
While we’re on the subject of sustainable websites, let’s talk about something else: image optimization.
You’ve probably heard that optimising your images is important for SEO. That smaller file sizes mean faster load times, which means better search rankings and more conversions. All true.
But here’s what people don’t often mention: every oversized image on your website is using unnecessary energy, every single time someone loads that page.
That 5MB hero image you uploaded straight from your camera? It could probably be 200KB without any visible quality loss. That’s 96% less data transferred, 96% less energy used, multiplied by every visitor to your site.
When you’ve got green hosting sorted, image optimization is the logical next step. It’s good for your users, good for your search rankings, and good for the planet. That’s what I call a proper win-win-win.
The Bigger Picture
Will switching to green hosting and optimising your images solve the climate crisis? No. But these are choices you can make right now that cost you nothing, risk nothing, and contribute to a collective shift in how the digital world operates.
Every website that switches is one more signal to the industry. Every business that chooses green hosting and lean, efficient design makes it easier for the next one to do the same.
Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is make the easy choices when they’re available.
Ready to check your hosting? Let’s make sure your website’s as green as it can be.
