<p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Talking about</span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> sustainability in digital marketing</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> invites us to tread a dangerous tightrope.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">The line between greenwashing and doing small, meaningful actions that can make a difference is thin but not invisible.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">That's why we're in a position to write sticking to concrete numbers, and take practical actions that make a</span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> </strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">real impact, no matter how small.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">We do not seek to tell who we are or sell what we do: today, we only intend to inform and raise awareness.</span></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Does SEO </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">"</strong><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">pollute</span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">"</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">?</span></h2><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">To answer this question, we must take a few steps back and understand the impact of the Internet as an essential resource to exercise SEO and other Growth activities.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">According to a</span><a href="https://theshiftproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Lean-ICT-Report_The-Shift-Project_2019.pdf" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="background-color: transparent;"> study by The Shift Project</a><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">, </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">the Internet infrastructure is responsible for approximately 3.7% of global emissions. </strong><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">Although it sounds like almost nothing, it is a bigger impact than that of the aviation industry (3.5%).&nbsp;</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">And that percentage was calculated before the pandemic, without considering </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">the 53.8% more users who shopped online as of 2020.</strong></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">In addition, experts predict that the Internet will account for 14% of total emissions by 2040.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">Much of this percentage is attributed to data centers: </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">there are more than 1.7 billion websites </strong><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">(you can check the updated information </span><a href="https://websitesetup.org/news/how-many-websites-are-there/" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="background-color: transparent;">here</a><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">), and the accelerating rhythm of new content generation fuels this projection.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">Of the 3.7% of the global impact of the Internet, 2% corresponds to data centers. As the demand for digital content grows, so does energy consumption.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">As long as it depends on the Internet for its execution, </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">poor management of the SEO strategy and its application on websites is an indirect contribution that fuels this percentage of global emissions.</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">&nbsp;</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">So if you thought SEO was carbon neutral since it doesn’t involve paper or waste, we invite you to keep reading this article.</span></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">The evident bond between SEO and energy consumption</span></h2><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Talking about SEO as an absolute </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000">solution </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a">for reducing energy consumption and global emissions is </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000">greenwashing. </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a">There are still many </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">opportunities to explore</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">, and, at present, </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">we are in a research stage rather than one of statements and slogans.</strong></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">We did find an apparent relationship between SEO and this cause, which is logical when we understand that a "heavy" site represents a</span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000"> higher </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a">negative impact on the planet.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">When SEO sets objectives such as reducing click depth, getting the user to visit only one ecosystem to access their search, and creating faster lightweight sites, it helps data centers </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">reduce their emissions.</strong></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">Loading speed is one of the essential factors in performance and SEO. All strategists know that </span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">the faster a site's pages load, the easier it will be to climb in the SERP</strong><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">. The connection is directly proportional.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">For some people, image and video optimization and its correct encoding in more efficient files is a small contribution to helping the environment.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Even so, </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">the most precise rule to understand SEO contribution</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> is the following:</span></p><p><br></p><p><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IHxPTejaNqWw-AiHTC9ZtgJnZ-xy-S89riEA10ri4PINs7GXeA01AivdoqW22KFKwfnyd6RzWTTVT3XpNCUuyQ9dmn-Bs4LJH38AoKijBpAOeOX8i72lEbDIW8rotb-5UeoYt4HNzT4r4FRKbLyKMnoQL1Vch5uheDEviixm7dOmMU9lmQJK6awkI5Pn3w" height="132" width="602"></strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">This result will allow us to carry out a comparative analysis of </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">"before and after SEO."</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Let's remember that the energy involved in loading an average page on the Internet results in an estimated release of </span><a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/internet-carbon-footprint" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="background-color: transparent;">1.76 g of CO2 for each click received</a><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">.</span></p><p><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">If this site receives 1 million clicks in a year, it will release a total of 1,760 kg of CO2.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Optimizing a 15% reduction in your website size would imply, in this case, 264 kg less CO2 released into the atmosphere annually.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Of course, </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000">the impact may seem small to us if we’re only talking about one website,</span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a"> but remember that there are more than 1.7 billion sites.</span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> If everyone achieved this 15 % reduction... Would we still be talking about an insignificant contribution?</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">That is why self-centeredness and individual strategies fit within the realm of greenwashing</span><strong class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;">. </strong><strong style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a">The contribution of SEO to sustainability is in community, at scale, and through constant research.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Before you go, check your website's carbon emissions</span></h2><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Before proposing any sustainability strategy, the first step is to </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">understand where we stand and the amount of damage we produce today.</strong></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Undoubtedly, this estimate will be the starting point for setting down-to-earth goals and the schedule to achieve them.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">In this sense, we recommend a quick visit to </span><a href="https://digitalbeacon.co/" target="_blank" class="ql-color-#1155cc" style="background-color: transparent;">Beacon</a><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">. It is </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">a free tool that will allow you to enter any URL and receive a breakdown of the carbon emissions produced by each element on your site.</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Consequently, you will have a simple resource to calculate </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">the environmental performance of the entire site</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> and multiply the emissions by the visits, to dimension your </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">total annual emissions.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Beacon works as a practical extension for Chrome or Firefox that, just by </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000">clicking</span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a"> once on the page you are interested in measuring, will show you a report with information like this:</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#000000" style="background-color: transparent;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YPhcOWj2nP68nWMh7UGHB9wzid2tY4ltgV6fQQUXhih9e_3UeuqXy1-1Q7qtwzdBKv1ucW85vmsxCBpAUvtG46FspaeA7le09G9q3rTjMjndZQn33HpTPsfJB7yyGZTvv0ST8Z5CO9-2VlgVX5fIkc8x0WlsXUd-eJkIi4o0pU_eirwRKDwj_4ZygL5meA" height="396" width="312"></span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">You will find the equivalents with other everyday activities, such as watching your favorite series in HD on Netflix or driving a certain number of kilometers in your car.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">You will also get the curious fact of the number of trees you should plant to offset your carbon footprint in a year. No excuses!&nbsp;</span></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Other axes to investigate as a community</span></h2><p><br></p><p><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Sustainability</strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> consists of </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">ensuring the needs of the present without engaging those of the future. </strong><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">This definition applies to all types of human-powered projects, physical or digital.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Professionals and companies must commit to</span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;"> the triple impact: environmental, social, and economic sustainability.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">No business model will be able to survive in the future if it does not actively rethink its commitment to the triple impact.&nbsp;</strong></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">We have already seen what we can do from the SEO field to work on reducing environmental impact.</span></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">What could we do to boost our positive social and economic impact? How can we establish </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#000000">solid </span><span style="background-color: transparent;" class="ql-color-#0e101a">accessibility structures on the websites we run? What are the urgent problems of the SEO community that discourage these efforts on a day-to-day basis?</span></p><p><br></p><p><span class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">We must address these questions and ideas as a community, under a collective and expansive logic. </span><strong class="ql-color-#0e101a" style="background-color: transparent;">Do you dare to tread this tightrope that will change the world?</strong></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>