GreenSEO April 2024: Join the Green Web Revolution

Join us on the evening of Wednesday, April 24th, for the launch of the Green SEO movement. Discover how SEO practices can contribute to reducing the environmental impact of websites through sustainable digital strategies.

This event is an opportunity for SEO professionals, digital marketers, and anyone interested to connect with like-minded individuals and learn more about creating a sustainable approach to digital marketing and driving the green web revolution. To get inspired, we're excited to have the following speakers sharing their ideas:

- Green SEO: How SEOs can drive the Green Web Revolution - Stu Davies (Creative Bloom)
- The Green Software Revolution - Adam Newman & Oliver Winks (Green Software Brighton)
- Addressing Greenwashing - Natalie Arney (SEO Consultant)

Join us in taking steps towards a greener web. Reserve your free spot today and be part of the conversation on building a more sustainable digital future.

1. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

2. About
GreenSEO
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

3. The
GreenSEO
manifesto
1.We will do all within our
power and influence to make
the web a greener place.
2.Each month we pledge to take
one action each towards this
goal.
3.We share, open source, support
and help advise each other.
4.We talk to people about the
impact of the web on the
environment and invite
like-minded souls to join the
greenSEO movement.
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

4. The
GreenSEO
website
#greenSEO

https://greenseo.org/
GreenSEO

5. Our
impact
so far
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

GreenSEO

6. CISCO
deploying
dark mode
on selected
website
pages
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

7. Screaming Frog
have added CO2
emissions
calculations to
log file
analyser and its
being added to
Crawl update v20
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

8. We have been
getting some
high profile
attention
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

9. We created
one of the
cleanest
websites on
the planet
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

10. We are a part
of
BrightonSEO
Fringe!!
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

11. Our asks
of you
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

GreenSEO

12. Join us
#greenSEO

GreenSEO

13. #greenSEO

GreenSEO

14. @creativebloomUK

15. #greenSEO

GreenSEO
●Green SEO: How SEOs can drive the
Green Web Revolution - Stu Davies
(Creative Bloom)
●The Green Software Revolution - Adam
Newman & Oliver Winks ( Green Software
Brighton)
●Addressing Greenwashing - Natalie
Arney

16. Green SEO:
How SEOs can
drive the Green
Web Revolution
Slideshare.Net/StuartDavies16
@creativebloomUK
Stuart Davies
Creative Bloom
GreenSEO

17. There is a BIG
problem
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

18. THE INTERNET
=4% OF
GLOBAL GHGS*
*Frédéric Bordage 2019
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

19. BY 2040 IT IS
EXPECTED TO BE
THE SECOND
1.CHINA
2.THE INTERNET
3.USA
4.INDIA
5.RUSSIA
6.JAPAN
7.GERMANY

*SOURCE WORLDOMETER
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

20. 1 ONLINE AD
CAMPAIGN = ⅓
annual CO2 FOR AN
avg US consumer**
@creativebloomUK

*GOOD LOOP
#greenSEO

21. 1 search = half
a kettle
boiling
#greenSEO

#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

22. F*CK
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

23. We are the bad guys!!!
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

24. What is
causing all
of this?
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

25. Energy
use
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

26. Data centers!!!
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

27. Data centers
where our
websites are
hosted
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

28. (wasteful)
content is king
the destroyer of
worlds
@creativebloomUK

#greenSEO

29. Resource heavy websites are a power drain
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

30. Images are the
biggest page
weight
contributor
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

31. Videos require
intensive
processing
power
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

32. Long copy =
long dwell
time
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

33. As does
poor ux
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

34. Exotic
Types and
variants
of fonts
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

35. Load speed
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

36. Code, plugins
& esp.
javascript
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

37. Controlling
crawlers with
robots.txt
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

38. The ai will
destroy us make
our lives better
@creativebloomUK

39. What can we
do about it?
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

40. SEOs CAN
HELP SAVE THE
WORLD!!!
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

41. We can be the good guys!!!
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

42. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

The planet is
more
important than
fancy websites

43. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

We can create
websites that
rank and are
planet friendly

44. Here’s
how:
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

45. 1.Measure our
website
impact
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Holding - beacon &
website carbon

46. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

47. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

CHRIS BUTTERWORTH
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PkJnhtjMhYNTaRtC6NE009ToAv00S9Ppdo
YGuNFp464/edit?usp=sharing

48. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

49. 2.Adopt
sustainable
web design
principles
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Holding - tom
greenwood book

50. 3.switch to
renewable
energy web
hosts
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/
directory/

51. 4.improve
the ux &
reduce dwell
time
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

52. 5.only place
high quality
& high value
content
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

53. 6. Perform
regular
content
culls
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Holding - content
cull

54. 7. optimise
and careful
use of images
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

55. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
Does the
image really
add value?

56. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
Does contain
useful info?

57. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
Can it have the
same impact if
smaller?

58. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
reduce images
not visible to
users, e.g. in
carousels.

59. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
Can you use vectors
or drawingS
instead of images?

60. 8. optimise
and careful
use of video
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

61. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Green seo considerations
If streaming use
green(ER) platforms
e.g. WISTIA

62. 9. Improve
load speed
and core web
vitals
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

63. 10.
Simple
fonts &
less
variants
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

10.
Simple
fonts &
less
variants

64. 11. Clean
code, few
plugins,
no javascript
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

65. 12. seo
markup helps
save the
planet
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

66. Lets see
someone who
has done it:
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

67. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

68. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

69. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

70. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

71. Great! What
else can we
do?
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

72. Stop sending
thank you
emails
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Dear person.

Thankyou for sending me an
email.

End.

Dear person.

No thankyou for sending me an
email.

End.

Dear person.

No no no thankyou for sending
me an email

Etc.
10 x email = 1 x

73. Lower screen
brightness
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

This is a picture of really
low brightness setting

74. Sign up to the
sustainable
web
manifesto
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Holding -
sustainable web
mainfesto

75. Talk to your
clients
about it
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

76. Migrate % of
ppc spend to
ecosia
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Holding - ecoisa

77. BE BRAVE TAKE
SOME ACTION!!
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

78. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Seo 101 +
Green seo =

79. = Websites
ranking =
happy clients
& bosses
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

80. = Less energy
use internet =
a healthier
planet
#greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

81. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

Checkout the
greenseo
website tools &
reosources
https://greenseo.org/

82. Thankyou!!!






Email: [email protected]
Twr: @creativebloomUK
https://www.creativebloomrocks.com


bit.ly/creativebloomboom
Stu Davies
Head of agency creative bloom
Lead rep for surfers against sewage
Local surfer
Defender of the planet
#greenSEO

83. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

84. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK

85. The Green
Software
Revolution
Adam Newman & Oli Winks
Root & Branch
GreenSEO
greensoftwarebrighton.co.uk
rootandbranch.io

86. 86

87. Green Software Brighton
87
Adam Newman
[email protected]
Oliver Winks
[email protected]

88. A local tech community of people curious about how digital technologies
impact the environment.
Green Software Brighton
88
greensoftwarebrighton.co.uk
Talks, workshops, panels, roundtable discussions …
Supported by
NEXT
EVENT

89. Talk outline
The problem
Why Software?
What can we do?
89
Q&A

90. 90
What’s The
Problem?

91. 91

92. 92

93. 93
“there is no certainty that
adaptation to a 4°C world
is possible” World Bank
[a 4°C future] “is incompatible
with an organized global
community, is likely to be
beyond ‘adaptation’, is
devastating to the majority of
ecosystems, and has a high
probability of not being
stable” Prof. Kevin Anderson
●Annual flood damage costs of
$12tn

●37% of world population exposed
to deadly heat waves once every 5
years

●195 million people exposed to
severe drought

●27% increase in land area for
malaria transmission

●7% increase in rainfall in the British
Isles!

Carbon Brief
https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/impacts-climate-
change-one-point-five-degrees-two-degrees/

94. 3.9 %
94
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
Germany1.85 %UK0.96 %Italy0.87 %
2.8 %
ICT1.8 %Shipping1.7 %Aviation1.9 %
Emissions as % of Global Total
1,500 Mt
750 Mt
1,125 Mt
375 Mt
approx.
[1] Fossil CO2 emissions of all world
countries - 2020 Report
[3] Emissions from computing and ICT could
be worse than previously thought

[2] CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Our
World in Data

95. 95
Growth of Digital Technology
2015 2022 Change
Internet users 3 billion 5.3 billion +78%
Internet traffic 0.6 ZB 4.4 ZB +600%
Data centre workloads 180 million 800 million +340%
Data centre energy
use (excluding crypto)
200 TWh 240-340 TWh +20-70%
Crypto mining energy
use
4 TWh 100-150 TWh [phone]%
Data transmission
network energy use
220 TWh 260-360 TWh +18-64%
????????????
????????????
[4] Data centres & networks - IEA

96. By 2027 A.I. servers could use between 85 to 134 terawatt hours (Twh) annually
96
Growth of Digital Technology Continued…
[5] The growing energy footprint of artificial
intelligence, Alex de Vries

97. 97
Jevons Paradox
William Stanely Jevons
?!?

98. 98
2 - 3 per room 5 - 10 per room
Jevons Paradox - a fun example
25 - 100W 4 - 18W

99. 99
Wirth’s Law
Nicholas Wirth

100. 100
As computers get quicker and cheaper, runtime performance
becomes less important (there’ll always be a faster computer
tomorrow). What’s more important is how fast you can get software
to market.
Dynamic Dependency Injection
Dynamic typing
Garbage Collection
Object Orientation
Just-in-time Compilation
Runtime Performance
Release time over runtime

101. 101
What Can
We Do?

102. 102
Hardware emits carbon.
Hardware exists to run software.
Why Software, not Hardware?
Hardware emits CO2:
Embodied + Running
Hardware efficiency problem?
What’s generating the demand?
ICT’s Dirty Secret
“How we design, implement
and run our Software is entirely
responsible for the magnitude of carbon
emissions from ICT”

103. 103
What can we do?
Design Patterns
Language & Frameworks
Data Types & Data Collections
Profiling Tools
Logging
Algorithmic Complexity
Compilers
++
Code Efficiency Carbon Awareness
“Do more when electricity is
clean, less when it’s dirty!”

Re-write? (£££££)
Prioritise optimisation by coverage
(SDLC) - opportunities to optimise for power consumption?

104. 104
Carbon Intensity
Carbon Awareness
Where? When?
Location Shifting Time Shifting
Carbon Aware SDK

105. 105
“You can’t improve what you don’t measure”

106. 106

107. 107
Cultural Change
Let’s make software differently.

Be curious & geek out!

Recognise software’s role in tech
emissions.
“We think of software solely
as a tool to solve problems,
let’s recognise it is a
significant contributor to one
- climate change”

USERS SOFTWARE HARDWARE ENERGY CO2

108. 108
What Next?
Green Software Foundation

Green Web Foundation

ClimateAction.Tech (Slack)

Awesome Green Software (GitHub)

Green Software book (O’Reilly)

Environment variables (Podcast)
www.greensoftwarebrighton.co.uk

109. 109
The end beginning…
Build amazing technology
(some can help drive sustainability)
Acknowledge our responsibility as software practitioners
Nobody else cares “how” software works, just “that” it works
Only we can hold ourselves and each other accountable
The “how” defines the carbon footprint of digital technologies

110. 110
[email protected]@rootandbranch.io
Thanks

111. Greenwashing
Speakerdeck.com/nataliearney
@__nca
Natalie Arney
Freelance SEO
GreenSEO

112. Hi, I’m Nat

113. I’m a Freelance SEO Consultant.
I’ve worked agency side and in-house, for big
brands and small brands.

114. I love nothing better than helping businesses - and
people - meet & exceed their potential.

115. I also believe that the planet on which we live and
its inhabitants deserve more

116. As Marketers, we need to do more.
As SEOs, we need to do more.

117. Corporations need to do more.

118. I always say I’m not going to get too political, but
the environment sadly is

119. The individual isn’t to blame for the mess we’re
in…

120. Corporations are.

121. However, I’m not here to rant

122. Today, I’m here to help you understand
greenwashing.

123. So, what is greenwashing?

124. Greenwashing is misleading marketing strategies
used by companies to appear environmentally
friendly.

125. The aim is to exploit consumer interest in
eco-friendly products through deceptive claims.

126. Origins of Greenwashing

128. Greenwashing is a term coined by environmental
activist Jay Westerveld in 1986 in response to
deceptive hotel signage.

129. However, the marketing tactic predates its official
naming, used to reduce costs under the guise of
environmentalism.

130. The Rise of Corporate Greenwashing

131. Companies like BP and Chevron use green
initiatives in marketing to shift focus away from
corporate responsibilities

134. Large companies like Ryanair, IKEA and Brewdog
have faced accusations of misleading
environmental claims.

138. Greenwashing vs. Genuine Sustainability

139. False claims focus on superficial or single-aspect
improvements.

140. Genuine sustainability involves comprehensive
practices including transparency, accountability,
and continuous improvement.

141. I.e, we’re doing this stuff because we care, not
because…

142. ●We have to do it
●It’s the law
●It looks good
●It’s sexy
●It makes us money

143. Greenwashing has a negative impact on the
environment

144. It leads to resource wastage, delays in genuine
sustainability efforts, and environmental trust
erosion.

145. So how do we identify it?

146. Greenwashing indicators:
●Lack of third-party certifications
●Vague claims
●Inconsistencies in company’s environmental
track record

147. Consumer actions:
●Verify claims
●Check for transparency
●Evaluate the full product lifecycle

148. Legal Status and Regulation

149. The UK and USA lacks specific laws against
greenwashing, though deceptive practices can be
penalised under existing regulations.

150. What does the ASA say?

151. The ASA enforces the CAP and BCAP Advertising Codes, which
govern media advertising.

These codes include specific sections for environmental claims
and social responsibility, ensuring ads do not mislead about
environmental benefits or other aspects, promoting honest and
responsible advertising.

152. Misleading Advertising


Section 3 of the CAP and BCAP Codes mandates that advertisements must not materially
mislead consumers.

'Material' information—essential for informed decisions—must be accurate and
substantiated by evidence prior to making claims, especially regarding environmental
impact or product attributes, to avoid being misleading.

153. Environmental Advertising


Sections 11 (CAP Code) and 9 (BCAP Code) detail environmental advertising standards,
mandating clarity in environmental claims and the terminology used.

These sections impose stringent requirements for substantiating claims about
environmental impacts, distinguishing between absolute and comparative claims to
prevent misleading advertising.

157. On the EU and rest of the world side, proposals and
laws are in development to tackle misleading
environmental claims more effectively.

158. Certifications and Carbon Offsetting

159. Not all certifications are reliable; some serve as
tools for greenwashing.

160. Carbon offsetting often does not address the root
causes of carbon emission and can lead to
negative side effects.

161. OK, so what can we do instead?!

162. ●Ensure all environmental claims are
substantiated
●Be honest about how ‘green’ your brand is
●Avoid vague language
●Avoid greenwashed terms
●Don’t rely on offsetting
●Focus on genuine sustainability rather than
marketing

163. Prioritise actions that have a tangible positive
impact on the environment.

164. Greenwashing Jargon

165. Bio

Short for biological. Often used in labels saying ‘bio-based’,
meaning made from living organisms, usually plants.

166. Biodegradable

The product will break down in the natural environment with the
help of bacteria and microbes.
There’s no legal time limit - it can take anywhere from 1 week to
400 years to break down in the environment.

167. Carbon neutral

This doesn’t mean that the product or business does not produce
any emissions.
It means that the company have ‘offset’ their emissions by
investing in projects which supposedly absorb an equal amount of
greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

168. Climate friendly

This is another way of saying carbon neutral, often meaning the
company has offset their carbon, or reduced their environmental
impact in some way.

169. Compostable

Perhaps the most widely misunderstood claim.

There are two types of compostable: Compostable, Home Compostable

170. Compostable

This means it can be broken down via ‘industrial composting’ which uses a big
machine with lots of organic matter, a high temperature and air flow to compost
items.

It does not mean you can put it on your compost pile in your garden or in your food
bin.

171. Home Compostable


Home compostable - look for the ‘home compostable’ certification logo, this
means it can go in your home compost pile and possibly in your food waste bin (if
your council can accept that type of item).

173. Degradable

It will break down.

Technically most things are degradable, even plastic bags.

There is no legal time limit on how long something can take before companies can
call it degradable.

174. Eco

Short for ecological, but often used to mean environmentally friendly.

There are no rules requiring that companies must show something is beneficial to
the environment to be able to use this term.

175. Environmentally friendly

There are no rules to show that something is beneficial to the
environment, and the term ‘friendly’ has no legal definition either.

176. Green

A buzzword to mean environmentally friendly and good for the
planet but whenever it’s used it’s so vague and has no real
meaning that you should pretty much ignore it.

Always look for evidence behind ‘green’ claims.

177. Net zero

This means an organisation has calculated their emissions and used the process of
reduce, choose renewable, offset, to bring their total emissions to zero.

Some companies are going a step further to try and bring their actual emissions to
zero, meaning they produce absolutely no emissions, but this is almost impossible
unless they produce their own renewable energy on-site.

179. Ocean plastic

Some companies pay for plastic waste that’s been scooped out of the ocean, then
use this in their products.

However, just because something claims to be ‘ocean plastic’ does not mean it has
ever been in the ocean!

Some companies use ‘ocean-bound’ plastic instead which is waste plastic argued
to be destined for the ocean

180. Oxo-degradable

Oxo-degradable plastics are made from standard plastic (from fossil fuels), with
an additive that attracts bacteria to speed up the degrading process.

These items don’t fully disappear, instead they break down into smaller and
smaller pieces, eventually leaving microplastics behind which is a big problem for
our oceans.

181. Plant based

This is popping up more as the popularity, and profitability, of vegan products
rises.

There’s no standard definition, usually it means that it’s based on plants rather
than animal products, but when you see it on a bottle of moisturiser it makes you
wonder why the moisturiser contained animal products before.

182. Plastic free

Plastic free can genuinely be plastic free, sometimes used to promote products
which would not usually be made from plastic or are obviously not made from
plastic, such as ‘plastic-free wooden pegs’.

It can also be used to highlight products that shouldn’t have been made from
plastic in the first place but had hidden plastics many didn't realise existed, such
as ‘plastic-free teabag wrappers’ which we assumed were just paper before.

183. Recycled

Some companies use the word ‘recycled’ but when you read the small print, they’re
made from just 10%or 20% recycled material.

There are two types of recycled content; Pre-consumer Recycled, Post-consumer
Recycled

184. Pre-consumer Recycled

Rubbish that hasn’t been used, usually waste created during manufacturing like
fabric offcuts, plastic pieces, wood shavings etc.

185. Post-consumer Recycled

Rubbish created once people have used the item, all the stuff we throw away or
recycle.

186. Recyclable

A company can prove that their item is recyclable but whether you can recycle it as
a consumer entirely depends on where you are and who is collecting the bin you’re
about to put that ‘recyclable’ product in.

188. Reusable

Technically anything is reusable if you don’t throw it away!

This is used to highlight items that have been designed for reuse, like reusable
coffee cups.

189. Sustainable

Sustainable should consider three elements (social, environmental and
economic), but there’s no requirement to do so before making a claim of being
sustainable.

Some companies will claim their products are sustainable because they’re
reusable or contain recycled content.

191. Thank you.
Where You Can Find Me:

X (Twitter):@__nca
LinkedIn: Natalie Arney
nataliearney.com

192. #greenSEO

GreenSEO

193. #greenSEO

@creativebloomUK