Carbon.txt
A proposed convention for website owners and digital service providers to demonstrate that their digital infrastructure runs on green electricity.
[upstream]
providers = [
{ domain = "cloud.google.com", service = "shared-hosting" },
{ domain = "aws.amazon.com", service = "cdn" }
]
[org]
credentials = [
{ domain = "mycompany.com", doctype = "webpage", url = "https://mycompany.com/sustainability" },
{ domain = "mycompany.com", doctype = "annual-report", url = "https://mycompany.com/carbon-emissions-2022.pdf" }
]What is carbon.txt?
A proposed convention for website owners and digital service providers to demonstrate that their digital infrastructure runs on green electricity. This is achieved by reusing existing governance structures, already published data, and existing industry standards as much possible.
Why do we need this?
We need a fossil free internet by 2030. But right now there's still not much transparency around how we source power.
To address this, Green Web Foundation has been building a Green Domains database, open sources the code for tracking this and is publishing open datasets about the state of the green web. Creating this dataset has been an ongoing effort for years. This has worked for the first few million domains, but the internet is a much bigger, more dynamic place than it was when this endeavour was started. Our approach needs to evolve with the times.
Carbon.txt is an evolution on how we publish and track this data.
What are the benefits?
For digital service providers
If you provide hosted digital services to others, carbon.txt lets you:
Recognition
Receive recognition, in a human and machine readable way, that the infrastructure you manage or use to provide your service runs on green energy.
Earn trust
Earn trust from customers by helping creating an evidence base of action being taken by providers to help the world transition to a fossil free internet.
Pass on to customers
Allow any downstream services or websites using your services to make the same claims, with a clear chain of attribution.
Show leadership
Demonstrate leadership if you are moving faster in terms of a climate response than the organisations in your supply chain by linking to your own work.