Every page view moves data through a network, a data centre, and a device — and all of that uses electricity. We advise academic organisations to treat their web estates as part of their sustainability reporting, so it is only right that we publish our own numbers. They are estimates, calculated openly, and we re-measure whenever the site changes meaningfully.
Our headline figures
Measured 11 June 2026 on this site’s homepage. With audience-weighted grid factors (most of our visitors are in the UK) the per-view figure is closer to 0.19 g — we publish the conservative number.
Where this site lives
Hosted on renewable energy.
This site runs on our own infrastructure in Nuremberg, Germany — Hetzner data centres powered by electricity from 100% renewable sources, primarily hydropower and wind. We manage it ourselves through a self-hosted Enhance control panel, so there is no extra management layer between the site and the server.
Renewable sourcing as reported in Hetzner’s environmental statement. Network and device emissions still apply, which is why our published figure stays conservative.
Hetzner · Nuremberg, Germany100% renewable electricity · self-managed via TecologyHow we measure
Open arithmetic, not a badge.
We use the Sustainable Web Design model, version 4 — the same methodology behind tools like the Website Carbon Calculator. It estimates emissions from how much data a page transfers and the carbon intensity of the electricity moving it. Our inputs:
- Page weight: the homepage’s total first-load transfer (1.2 MB), measured with compression, including every font, script, style, and image.
- Energy intensity: 0.81 kWh per GB transferred, split across data centres, networks, and devices as the SWD v4 model prescribes.
- Grid carbon factor: 458.29 g CO₂e/kWh — the global average (Ember, 2025). We use the global figure deliberately: it cannot flatter us. Our data centre (Hetzner, Nuremberg) runs on 100% renewable electricity, which would push the figure lower still on a market-based calculation.
- No live carbon badge: a badge is itself another request on every page. We publish a dated figure and re-measure instead.
How we keep it light
The lean build is the point.
What we hold ourselves to
- We re-measure after any significant change to the site, and at least quarterly, updating the dated figures above.
- We keep the homepage under 0.5 g CO₂e per view on the global grid factor — if a change pushes past that, the change gets revisited, not the target.
- We publish a machine-readable carbon.txt so our claims can be checked programmatically.
- The same discipline goes into client work — it is why we wrote about the carbon cost of a heavy website.
Start a conversation
Tell us about the work you’re doing.
The best projects start with understanding the academic work behind them. Book a 30-minute call — no pitch deck, no pressure, just a conversation about what you’re trying to do.
Or email oc.ygolocet@ofni — we reply within one working day.