Being a sustainable web developer

You’re using a reusable cup everywhere. You’ve switched to an energy provider that uses 100% renewable sources. You’ve sold the car and get around by bike or public transport. You’ve followed our tips for going greener. You might even have web hosting that plants trees for you.

But what about your work?

What’s sustainable about what you’re building?

Here are five ways you can help make your development work a little more sustainable while creating the next big thing.

1. Build in the energy-saving option

How much energy does it take to load your app? Are you using large images and videos? How many extra scripts have you added? What about your fonts? How long does your site take to load?

The longer your site takes to load, the more energy it uses. And if someone’s in a hurry, low on battery, or short on data, they’re not going to wait. A faster, lighter site isn't just better for them - it’s better for the planet too.

When you have the option of a lower-energy version, take it. Brian Louis Ramirez has some great ideas in his article “Green by Default”, and we’ve shared even more tips in How To Make Your WordPress Site a Lean, Green Machine.

2. Clear out your emails

Did you know the average person generates around 136kg of CO2 every year through email alone? And that’s just from sending and receiving, it doesn’t include the energy used to store messages indefinitely on servers. Add in attachments, and you’re looking at some serious carbon emissions just hiding out in your mailbox.

You don’t have to aim for “Inbox = 0”, but it helps to be more intentional. Delete old newsletters, dispatch and renewal notifications, spam emails, anything that isn’t essential. And maybe skip that quick “Thanks!” reply in a long email chain.

Vidya Kasarla’s “What’s the Carbon Cost of Your Email on the Climate” has more tips on reducing your digital footprint, and also look at our article Digital decluttering: saving the planet one photo and email at a time.

3. Turn off what you’re not using

This isn’t just about turning off monitors or lights, though that’s always a good start. It’s also about the systems you’ve forgotten about. Do you have a server idling somewhere? A few WordPress plugins taking up valuable space and processing time? Or even a random PDF sitting in a temporary directory that no one’s used in months?

Switching things off saves energy and money. There’s plenty of writing about the cost of inactive servers, but Holly Cummins’ talk “How to work in tech and not wreck the planet” is a fantastic introduction to how better server management can make a real difference.

4. Look at your providers

How sustainable are the products and services you rely on? What’s your supplier’s environmental policy? Have they been involved in controversies you can't ignore?

In the tech industry, we’ve seen real cautionary tales:

• Data centres leaking PFAS chemicals used in cooling systems and components, creating persistent pollution even after disposal.
• AI model training and server farms consuming vast amounts of electricity and water, often from fossil fuel grids.
• Satellite networks burning up on re-entry, releasing aluminium oxides into the upper atmosphere - a growing environmental concern as thousands of devices fall back to Earth.

It’s not easy to find companies that tick every box. But small, conscious choices still make a difference. Choose suppliers that are transparent about their impact, publish sustainability reports, or commit to renewable energy and circular design. The more we demand accountability across the supply chain, the more the industry will move in the right direction.

5. Promote sustainability

Even after you’ve made your code cleaner and more efficient, reduced your emails, switched off idle servers, and checked the sustainability of your suppliers, there’s still more you can do.

One person can’t do everything, but together, we can create change. Groups like Climate Action Tech, Design Justice Network, and Green Software Engineering are helping to make the tech industry more sustainable, and they need people like you. Join a local group, start conversations with other developers, or champion greener practices in your workplace. Every action helps move things forward.

Where do I start?

If you’re ready to explore sustainable tech in more depth, there are plenty of great places to find out more.

• The Green Software Foundation – practical tools and best practices for low-carbon software.
• ClimateAction.tech – a global community of technologists sharing ways to make their work more sustainable.
• The Green Web Foundation – open tools and data for a fossil-free internet.

Whether you join a community, start small changes in your own workflow, or share what you’ve learned with others, every action helps make the web more sustainable.