CO₂ emissions
Analysis: These websites are the most harmful to the climate
According to a recent analysis by the University of Europe for Applied Sciences (UE), Amazon's website causes the most emissions of the 200 most visited websites in Germany, at around 1,753 tons of CO₂ per year.
The analysis is based on the Website Carbon Calculator, which calculates the CO₂ emissions per page view and extrapolates them to the year. Prof. Dr. Iris Lorscheid, UE Professor of Digital Business and Data Science, comments: "Every click leaves an ecological footprint. High emissions occur where digital experiences become a continuous operation - for example, when streaming or endless scrolling. Data science helps us to make these invisible processes visible - and shows that sustainable digitalization starts with design: with the question of how we store data, design content and use technologies responsibly."
According to the study, the Amazon site generates around 1,753 tons of CO₂ per year. It is followed by wetteronline.de with around 1,641 tons and bing.com with 1,282 tons. Check24 (1,109 tons) and Spotify (1,102 tons) are also among the biggest emitters.
When looking at CO₂ emissions per visit, the US State Department website (state.gov) is surprisingly in the lead - with 3.68 grams of CO₂ per visit. It is followed by Check24 (3.62 g) and Shein (3.04 g), ahead of Spotify (2.96 g) and Booking.com (1.68 g).
An industry comparison also shows that websites from the entertainment, travel & tourism and music categories generate the highest average emissions of up to 330 tons of CO₂ per year. You can find out more about the analysis here https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PpdZd/1/.
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