Hello and welcome to issue 10 of Beneath the Surface where we dig into the world of sustainable web design and come together to untangle the green web.
Hi! It’s been a little while.
When we signed off Issue #9 with ‘see you next year,’ we didn’t think it’d take quite this long. But here we are.
When writing Beneath the Surface, we like to take our time to properly understand new developments in the sustainable web design world. And over the past year or so, the speed at which the ‘AI revolution’ has permeated seemingly every corner of web development has left us feeling a bit overwhelmed. And, frankly, a little disheartened.
Is our dream of a greener web even possible in the current climate?
Since Issue #9, we’ll admit we’ve had a bit of an identity crisis. Optimising websites to be more energy efficient, as we do, can feel a bit pointless when data centres are popping up all over the place, guzzling eye-watering amounts of electricity and water. Likewise, writing new articles can feel a little fruitless when we know they’re just going to be gobbled up by LLMs to feed the generative machine.
Thankfully, we’ve been dragged out of our existential funk by a rising tide of people who are asking for something better.
People pushing for more transparency around the environmental impact of digital services. People questioning whether AI can be harnessed in a more positive, considered way. And people demanding Big Tech companies are held to account, rather than accepting every shiny new development as inevitable, or even ‘progress’.
So, in this issue, we’re sharing some of the stories, tools and resources that have helped us feel a little less gloomy and a little more hopeful.
We hope you find them interesting, useful and encouraging on your own digital sustainability journey. And if you have any you’d like to share with us, just hit reply – we’re always happy to hear from you.
🏭 The dirty data centre edition: State of the Fossil-Free Internet 2026
The Green Web Foundation has published its first annual State of the Fossil-Free Internet report, and it landed at exactly the right time for our current mood.
This year’s edition looks at the rapid rise of ‘dirty’ fossil-fuelled data centres and what this means for the future of a greener web. The report explores how the race to build bigger, more energy-hungry infrastructure, particularly for increasingly powerful generative AI, is putting the goal of a fossil-free internet at risk.
It’s a sobering read. But it’s also a useful one.
Because while individual website optimisation still matters, this report makes it clear that we also need to look at the infrastructure underneath the internet. Who owns it? How is it powered? How transparent are these companies? What is the role of governments in protecting communities? And is all this extra digital demand genuinely serving people and planet?
Some of the report’s big takeaways include:
- The Green Web Foundation is working towards a fossil-free internet by 2030 but warns that massive data centre expansion is putting that goal under pressure.
- The democratisation of generative AI means the demand for larger, more energy-hungry data centres has grown exponentially over the last few years.
- Data centres don’t only have a carbon impact. They can also affect the communities in which they are built, increasing pollution, electricity demand, water use and energy costs for ordinary folk.
- Big Tech companies often talk about renewable energy, but the report questions how transparent any claims really are.
- A fossil-free internet isn’t just about switching to greener energy. It also means reducing energy demand and questioning whether every new digital product or AI feature really needs to exist at all.
The report sets out three pathways for change.
- Reduce energy demand.
- Green the energy supply.
- Democratise tech.
That last point really resonated with us here at Root.
A greener web is not just about making individual websites lighter, although we will obviously keep banging that particular drum. It’s also about building a digital world that uses less, asks better questions, shares power more fairly, and refuses to treat endless growth as the only possible version of progress.
Read the full report here: State of the Fossil-Free Internet 2026
♻️ Ethical alternatives to Big Tech tools
Big Tech doesn’t just dominate the data centre space – its tools are everywhere too. From analytics and cloud storage to project management, video calls and even the browser you use to access the internet, it can feel like the default option is always owned by one of the same handful of companies.
And of course these tools are popular for a reason. Many of them are powerful, familiar and convenient.
But they aren’t always the best option.
Over on the Root blog, we’ve been looking at some of the alternative tools we use, rate, or think are worth considering if you want your business software to do its job without handing so much power, data and money to the same Big Tech companies.
Some of our favourites include:
- Fathom Analytics – A simpler, privacy-focused alternative to Google Analytics that gives you the website data you actually need, without cookies or invasive tracking.
- KanbanFlow – A lightweight project management tool that helps small teams see what needs doing, what’s in progress and what’s already been ticked off.
- Whereby – A browser-based video calling tool that makes client meetings easy, with no downloads or account creation needed for guests. Anything these days that doesn’t require an app download gets our vote.
- Proton Drive – Based in Europe and outside of all the Big Tech ecosystems, Proton Drive is an encrypted cloud storage option for businesses that want more control over where their files live and who can access them.
- Ecosia – The environmentally conscious search engine now has its own browser. All profits go towards climate action projects, turning everyday internet use into a small but positive switch.
- GitLab – A self-hosted web development tool that helps us manage code, track changes, and keep more control over our development workflow, away from the grubby fingers of Big Tech.
This is not about ditching every Big Tech tool overnight or pretending every alternative is perfect. It’s about being more intentional with the choices we make.
Because the tools we use every day shape how we work, how much data we hand over, which companies we support and the kind of internet we help to build.
Read the full blog for more: Ethical alternatives to Big Tech software tools
🍄 Unearthed
~ Digital sustainability news, insights and tips from around the web.
Are we still designing for humans?
Two strong voices of Sustainable Web Design Tom Greenwood and Michael Andersen have come together this thoughtful article on the Wholegrain Digital blog asking what websites are really for in the age of AI. If bots are crawling our pages while AI summaries reduce human visits, should we rethink how websites are designed? The article explores a future of hybrid websites that give rich, useful experiences for people, while providing lighter, structured content that machines can understand. A timely read on AI, accessibility, sustainability and human-centred design.
Sustainable AI gets a new champion
A new research and advisory firm aims to help organisations understand and reduce the environmental, social and economic impacts of AI. Co-founded by well-known AI sustainability researcher Dr Sasha Luccioni and AI sustainability strategist Boris Gamazaychikov, the Sustainable AI Group’s message is clear: AI absolutely can be sustainable, but it isn’t on that path yet. This is one to watch if you’re interested in AI impact measurement, greener deployment, and moving the conversation beyond vague ‘AI for good’ rhetoric.
Green Software podcast visits Green IO
This episode of the Green Software Foundation’s Environment Variables podcast was recorded live from the Green IO conference and is well worth a listen. Titled ‘Carbon Debt, Energy Smells, and the Missing Water Story in AI,’ it explores some of the latest conversations in sustainable software. Expect practical engineering ideas, reflections on AI and infrastructure, and a timely reminder that digital sustainability is about more than just carbon. This all feels especially relevant right now, as more people start asking what data-hungry tools are really costing behind the scenes. Listen now.
A home for environmental footprint tools
Footprint Data is a really handy, open-access directory of data and tools for calculating environmental footprints across everything from product lifecycle assessments and company greenhouse gas inventories to electricity, cloud, transport and construction. We were chuffed to spot our article about website carbon calculators listed in their Footprint Tools section. Lovely to see more open, practical resources helping people to measure, understand and ultimately reduce environmental impact.
A really good website
Website Specification is a seriously useful checklist of what a good website should actually do. It covers the foundations, SEO, accessibility, security, privacy, resilience, internationalisation and more, with each topic linking back to recognised standards rather than personal opinion. Platform-agnostic and built in the open, it’s not specifically a sustainability resource, but it is very much aligned with sustainable web thinking: better websites tend to be faster, more accessible, more resilient and less wasteful. One to bookmark for audits, rebuilds and those ‘Have we remembered everything?’ final checks.
Search engines that don’t use AI
Fed up of being served AI guff whenever you perform a simple search? You’re not alone. SEO consultant Matt Tutt has put together a list of search engines for anyone who wants to avoid AI-generated summaries at the top of SERPs. Matt highlights DuckDuckGo’s No AI version and StartPage as options worth exploring, while making the important point that ‘AI-free’ doesn’t necessarily mean ethical. As with all digital tools, it’s worth asking who owns the search engine, how it makes money, what data it collects and who really benefits.
Got any cool links you think deserve a wider audience? Send them our way and we will include them in a future issue.
☀️ Studio News
- Earlier this year we launched the new Find an Object website site for The Collections Trust, helping museums rehome objects they no longer need.
- We also recently part of the team behind the new site for Sort Health, created to make ADHD care feel more human, more accessible, and easier to navigate.
💚 Thank you for reading
This issue of Beneath the Surface was written by Becky Thorn, Paul Jardine and Chris Seed. We’ll see you for issue 11… sometime soon! ✌️