Important Announcement: Reduction of CO2e Limit for Website Accreditation

[London, 15 August 2024] — The Eco-Friendly Web Alliance (EFWA) is pleased to announce a significant update to our Carbon-Conscious Website Accreditation. Effective 7th August 2024, the Scientific Advisory Board has reduced the recommended CO2e limit for websites from 1g to 0.65g per page view. This adjustment aligns with our ongoing commitment to drive substantial reductions in digital carbon emissions and promote sustainable web practices.

As of this announcement, all currently accredited websites will have an eight-month period to make necessary adjustments and align with the updated standard. The rest of the website accreditation process will remain unchanged, ensuring continuity and stability for our partners and stakeholders.

Key Points of the Announcement:

CO2e Limit Reduction: The new CO2e limit of 0.65g per page view will replace the previous threshold of 1g, underscoring our commitment to continuously reducing website emissions. EFWA will periodically review this limit.

Implementation Timeline: By 31st August 2024, all references to the carbon limit will be updated across our platform, website, communication resources, and social media assets.

Support for Accredited Websites: Accredited websites will have an eight-month period to comply with the new standard, ensuring they have ample time to make necessary adjustments.

No Change in Pricing: The cost of our accreditation services will remain unchanged. We will continue to support registered charities, select non-profits, and public sector organisations at no cost.

It's important to consider that accreditation through EFWA is not solely based on the average carbon per page view threshold but also involves ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions, verify green hosting, and take responsibility for the annual carbon footprint. To summarise, our Website Accreditation Process involves three key steps and not just lowering estimated carbon per page view:

Website Accreditation Process:

1. Reduction of Carbon Emissions: Through regular audits, we support reducing of the average carbon emissions per page view, improving the carbon rating, and minimising website carbon footprints.
2. Green Hosting Check: We verify if a website is hosted using green/renewable energy. If not, an additional 10% of carbon is accounted for in our calculations.
3. Taking Responsibility: Site owners take accountability for their website's yearly carbon footprint based on traffic volume, through insetting or supporting high-integrity nature projects (verified carbon standard/gold standard).

EFWA's website audit service What's your website's impact on the planet? cover all pages of a website, not just the homepage. We provide free guidance and follow-up audits to support organisations in reducing their carbon footprint. As a social enterprise, we prioritise people and the planet over profit, with approximately 80% of our work offered free of charge.

Ethical Commitment:

EFWA remains committed to not accrediting websites of organisations involved in fossil fuels, high-interest lending, gambling, tobacco, firearms, conflict minerals, and other areas that contradict our values.

At the heart of our mission for a cleaner, greener internet is a commitment to collaboration and knowledge sharing. We actively participate in industry groups like ComputerWeekly's IT Sustainability Think Tank and the W3C SustyWeb Community Group, and we're involved in the Future17 SDG Challenge, which focuses on 21st-century skills and the UN Sustainable Development Goals — an initiative by The University of Exeter and QS. Our efforts include providing free website audits, hosting knowledge-sharing sessions, and developing open-source resources. By leading projects on e-waste and sustainable device lifecycle management, we are helping to shape a more sustainable future.

We thank our community for their continued support and commitment to promoting a more sustainable internet. This update represents our ambition for even greater carbon reductions and our dedication to evolving our standards and practices.

Together, let's inspire change and work towards a cleaner, greener internet.

For more information, please contact:

Eco-Friendly Web Alliance (EFWA)

Email: info@ecofriendlyweb.org