For my book Digital Permaculture, I examined websites run by permaculture organisations in 2023. How much data does a page load transfer, and what might that mean for its carbon footprint? I collected the figures by hand, then repeated the exercise in 2025 for a presentation for the Permaculture Association Britain. In October 2026, I looked at 32 organisations again; 27 websites could be measured.
Two results stand out. The Permaculture Association Britain website transferred 15.6 MB in my 2025 test and 21.8 MB in the latest one. These snapshots show no improvement: the measured amount is now about 40% higher.
permakultur.de on the other hand shows that change is possible. Its measured data transfer fell from 25.9 MB in 2025 to 6.7 MB, a reduction of roughly 74%.
My own website, Vihreä Pourusmäki, transferred 0.24 MB in the latest test. That corresponds to an estimated 0.036 g CO² per page load. To me, it is a practical example of how a website can communicate its content while transferring far less data.
These figures are snapshots of individual page loads. Content, advertising and test conditions can change, and CO² figures are estimates rather than directly measured emissions. That is why I compare data transfer, rather than historical carbon estimates, across 2025 and 2026. I calculated the latest CO² estimates using CO2.js.
If you want to make your website lighter, faster and more sustainable, a measurement is a useful starting point. At Chase & Snow, we offer website sustainability assessments, advice and implementation. Together, we can identify what drives your site’s data transfer and which changes make sense for your visitors and your organisation.
| Organisation | URL | Data (MB) | CO² (g) | |
| 1 | Permaculture Association Britain | https://permaculture.org.uk | 21.783 | 3.228 |
| 2 | Permaculture Dalmatia / Permakultura Dalmacija | https://permakultura-dalmacija.hr/ | 19.689 | 2.918 |
| 3 | Green Network of Activist Groups | https://www.zmag.hr/en/ | 12.492 | 1.851 |
| 4 | Permakultūra Latvia | https://www.permakultura.lv | 10.567 | 1.566 |
| 5 | Permakultur Danmark | https://www.permakultur.dk | 7.638 | 1.132 |
| 6 | Philippine Permaculture Association | https://www.phpermaculture.com | 6.714 | 0.995 |
| 7 | Permakultur Institut e. V. | https://www.permakultur.de/home | 6.714 | 0.995 |
| 8 | All Ireland Permaculture Association | https://permaculture.ie | 5.721 | 0.848 |
| 9 | Nordic Permaculture Academy | https://nordicpermacultureacademy.org/ | 4.783 | 0.709 |
| 10 | Permacultura Mediterránea | https://permamed.org | 4.344 | 0.644 |
| 11 | Permakultura CS | https://www.permakulturacs.cz/english | 3.735 | 0.554 |
| 12 | Permakultur Akademie Österreich | https://www.permakultur-austria-akademie.at | 3.095 | 0.459 |
| 13 | Hrvatska permakultura | https://www.perforum.info | 2.857 | 0.423 |
| 14 | Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute | https://www.bluemountainspermacultureinstitute.com.au | 2.707 | 0.401 |
| 15 | Luna Red Producción Cultural | https://lunaredcultural.es | 2.440 | 0.362 |
| 16 | International Permaculture Collaborative Laboratory | https://perma.earth | 2.387 | 0.354 |
| 17 | Université Populaire de Permaculture, France | https://permaculture-upp.org/ | 2.239 | 0.332 |
| 18 | Norsk Permakulturforening | https://www.permakultur.no/ | 1.709 | 0.253 |
| 19 | Croatian Permaculture Diploma | https://www.perforum.info/kako-do-diplome-permakulturnog-dizajnera-info… | 1.559 | 0.231 |
| 20 | Permaculture Association of Bulgaria | https://pab.greenschoolvillage.org | 1.440 | 0.213 |
| 21 | Academia Italiana di Permacultura | https://www.permacultura.it/index.php/en/ | 1.119 | 0.166 |
| 22 | Permanant | https://www.permanant.org/ | 0.986 | 0.146 |
| 23 | Academia de Permacultura Íbera | https://academiapermaculturaibera.org/ | 0.973 | 0.144 |
| 24 | Evolving Cycles | https://www.evolvingcycles.com/about-us/ | 0.951 | 0.141 |
| 25 | Swiss Permaculture Academy | https://academiesuissepermaculture.ch/en/home-3/ | 0.630 | 0.093 |
| 26 | Permakultur Sverige | https://permakultur.se | 0.330 | 0.049 |
| 27 | Vihreä Pourusmäki | https://vihreapourusmaki.fi | 0.243 | 0.036 |