Decarbonizing websites with Fershad Irani

Cool chats with folks in green communications and adjacent fields.

Note: This is the first in a series of interviews I plan to hold with unique individuals in green communications and adjacent fields.

When I was getting started on freelancing for sustainable industries, Fershad Irani was one of the first people I reached out to for advice, particularly because, like me, he had a rather niche service offering in the sustainability sector: decarbonizing websites.

Born in India, raised in Australia, and now living in Taipei, Fershad helps clients identify ways to measure and reduce the environmental impacts of their websites and apps.

So how exactly can a website – something that only exists on a data server – be decarbonized? Take us into the nitty gritty of what you do. 

“The devices which power the internet and our connected lives all consume electricity, there’s no escaping that. Some estimates have Internet & Communication Technology (ICT) as using as much as 7% of global electricity consumption - and in terms of carbon emissions, estimates range from 2 - 4% of global annual emissions. A popular comparison is with the airline industry which accounts for 2% of global annual emissions.

Anyone can start decarbonising their website in a few different ways. When you think about the systems that go into serving a website to visitors there are three distinct segments - hosting, networks, end-user devices.

Select a green web host - If you can use a website host that runs on renewable energy then that goes a long way towards reducing your site’s overall carbon footprint. The Green Web Foundation (who I work with) maintain a directory of certified green web hosts. Some website carbon estimation models have hosting accounting for up-to 15% of a website’s total emissions, so this one step can go a long way.

Reduce the size of your site/assets - Reducing the size of your site & the files that you use reduces the network bandwidth required to get them from your host to your user. Sustainability aside, it also helps your website load faster, and who doesn’t want that!?

It should be noted though, there’s new research that shows the link between data transfer (file size) and network energy usage is not one-to-one. So reducing the size of your site might not have the direct emissions reduction impact we currently think it does. Watch this space I say.

Reduce the workload on user devices - If your website is running a lot of processes, scripts, or video on a user’s device then it’s going to consume a lot more power. In general, try to reduce the amount of computation that’s being performed on a user's device. This also helps to prolong battery life for mobile devices .

Those are just a few things to get folks started. The website Sustainable Web Design has a lot more guidance on best practices in this space.”

‘Freelance Website Sustainability Consultant’ isn’t a title you come across too often on LinkedIn. How and when did your freelance journey get started? 

“In 2019, when I was weighing up what to do after obtaining my permanent residency in Taiwan. I have always wanted to be “my own boss”, but never really had the guts to take that step. After thinking things through, and talking it over with my partner, we decided that it was okay for me to test the waters and go freelance. Very much like my move to Taiwan, the idea to go freelance was very much of a “if not now, then when?” kind of decision. Having accumulated (what I thought to be) enough savings, and with my partner still employed full-time at that stage, we both felt there was a chance for me to pursue a freelance career path without significant risk.

That said, even the best thought through plans in 2019 didn’t account for a global pandemic which did make things a bit stressful financially for the first couple of years of my freelance journey.”

I come across a lot of people who are new to freelancing in the sustainability field. I know you gave me a ton of good advice when I was getting started (such as starting this Substack). Did you make any mistakes on your freelancer journey that you would suggest newcomers to avoid?  

“Hahaha attending the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan probably didn’t help. I burned through a fair chunk of my savings there.

Honestly though, I think the best thing I can tell new freelancers is guidance rather than what not to do. That guidance is, hang in there. There’ll be highs and lows along the way, and you might well find yourself looking in angst at a pretty empty bank account from time to time, but just hang in there. It’s a marathon not a sprint, so give things time to take shape, to bed themselves in, and to bear fruit.” 

Please give a shout out what services you offer.  

“I provide consulting for organisations/individuals who want to start understanding and reducing their digital carbon footprint.

I help organisations build carbon emissions estimates & carbon awareness into their products/services. Whether those are internal tools, or external customer facing platforms. This can either be working with developer teams in a guidance capacity, or writing code myself. 

I also work on open-source projects. Folks can check out some of my open-source work and hobby projects at https://fershad.com/projects/.”

—
You can also follow Fershad’s blog and subscribe to his newsletter Optimised. 

---

Book a free consultation call
Connect with me on LinkedIN
E-Mail me at pr@jonseidman.com

And please subscribe to my Substack if my writing is helpful. :-)