Figsu is a Figma plugin designed to calculate a design's potential carbon emissions. Given the growing concern about the significant environmental impact of internet usage, our goal is to equip designers with the necessary tools and resources to reduce potential carbon emissions during the website design stage. This proactive approach enables the minimization of a website's environmental footprint from the outset.
The Base Calculation
The base calculation are based on sustainablewebdesign.org a group of purpose driven people has led to the development of open standards for quantifying carbon emissions from digital offerings.
For a more comprehensive understanding, refer to the complete methodology for calculating digital emissions.
Tailoring the Formula for Design
While the full standard considers various factors, at the design stage, we primarily focus on page weight, which is usually the total size of all elements on a webpage.
Here's a simplified breakdown of our design-stage carbon footprint calculation for websites:
Page Weight: We measure the total weight of all images included in your design. (We're working on incorporating other factors that add up to the page weight in the future.)
Average Carbon Intensity: We consider the average carbon footprint of electricity generation (grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour).
Green Hosting: We factor in whether your website will be hosted on a server powered by renewable energy sources.
Calculating Energy Consumption:
Energy (kWh) = Page Weight (GB) x 0.81 kWh/GB
Calculating Emissions:
Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x (0.85 x 442g/Kwh) + (0.15 x 50g/kWh)
Non Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x 442g/Kwh
While the full standard considers various factors, at the design stage, we primarily focus on page weight, which is usually the total size of all elements on a webpage.
Here's a simplified breakdown of our design-stage carbon footprint calculation for websites:
Page Weight: We measure the total weight of all images included in your design. (We're working on incorporating other factors that add up to the page weight in the future.)
Average Carbon Intensity: We consider the average carbon footprint of electricity generation (grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour).
Green Hosting: We factor in whether your website will be hosted on a server powered by renewable energy sources.
Calculating Energy Consumption:
Energy (kWh) = Page Weight (GB) x 0.81 kWh/GB
Calculating Emissions:
Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x (0.85 x 442g/Kwh) + (0.15 x 50g/kWh)
Non Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x 442g/Kwh
While the full standard considers various factors, at the design stage, we primarily focus on page weight, which is usually the total size of all elements on a webpage.
Here's a simplified breakdown of our design-stage carbon footprint calculation for websites:
Page Weight: We measure the total weight of all images included in your design. (We're working on incorporating other factors that add up to the page weight in the future.)
Average Carbon Intensity: We consider the average carbon footprint of electricity generation (grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour).
Green Hosting: We factor in whether your website will be hosted on a server powered by renewable energy sources.
Calculating Energy Consumption:
Energy (kWh) = Page Weight (GB) x 0.81 kWh/GB
Calculating Emissions:
Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x (0.85 x 442g/Kwh) + (0.15 x 50g/kWh)
Not Green Hosted
Emissions = Energy(kWh) x 442g/Kwh
Things to Note
Calculating subsequent visits with the design is challenging due to caching and other factors. Therefore, our design-stage calculations primarily focus on the initial page visits . other assets like fonts, JavaScript, CSS, HTML files are not calculated here, as they usually get generated after development stage.
The weight of images calculated from Figma design and the actual weight of images from the website might vary, as images can be exported from Figma with various options like scale, format etc. As this depends on user’s control and desire to export, we are calculating the image weight based on the images in Figma.
We understand that this is an approximation. We're continuously testing and refining our methods to ensure accuracy. Our goal is to provide a clear starting point for optimizing your website's design for minimal environmental impact.
Calculating subsequent visits with the design is challenging due to caching and other factors. Therefore, our design-stage calculations primarily focus on the initial page visits . other assets like fonts, JavaScript, CSS, HTML files are not calculated here, as they usually get generated after development stage.
The weight of images calculated from Figma design and the actual weight of images from the website might vary, as images can be exported from Figma with various options like scale, format etc. As this depends on user’s control and desire to export, we are calculating the image weight based on the images in Figma.
We understand that this is an approximation. We're continuously testing and refining our methods to ensure accuracy. Our goal is to provide a clear starting point for optimizing your website's design for minimal environmental impact.
Calculating subsequent visits with the design is challenging due to caching and other factors. Therefore, our design-stage calculations primarily focus on the initial page visits . other assets like fonts, JavaScript, CSS, HTML files are not calculated here, as they usually get generated after development stage.
The weight of images calculated from Figma design and the actual weight of images from the website might vary, as images can be exported from Figma with various options like scale, format etc. As this depends on user’s control and desire to export, we are calculating the image weight based on the images in Figma.
We understand that this is an approximation. We're continuously testing and refining our methods to ensure accuracy. Our goal is to provide a clear starting point for optimizing your website's design for minimal environmental impact.
Future Considerations
We're actively working to expand our design-stage calculations to encompass other factors that contribute to a website's carbon footprint. Additionally, we're committed to staying up-to-date with the evolving standards for digital carbon footprint measurement.
Any suggestions or feedbacks or queries do reach out to us on jayavanthiravindran@gmail.com
We're actively working to expand our design-stage calculations to encompass other factors that contribute to a website's carbon footprint. Additionally, we're committed to staying up-to-date with the evolving standards for digital carbon footprint measurement.
Any suggestions or feedbacks or queries, do reach out to us on , jayavanthiravindran@gmail.com
We're actively working to expand our design-stage calculations to encompass other factors that contribute to a website's carbon footprint. Additionally, we're committed to staying up-to-date with the evolving standards for digital carbon footprint measurement.
Any suggestions or feedbacks or queries do reach out to us on jayavanthiravindran@gmail.com
Team & Credits
Jayavanthi Gayathri - Concept, Suresh Gutam - Development, Prabhu Parameswaran - Product, Special thanks to - Varun Adithiyan
Jayavanthi Gayathri - Concept, Suresh Gutam - Development, Prabhu Parameswaran - Product, Special thanks to - Varun Adithiyan
Jayavanthi Gayathri - Concept, Suresh Gutam - Development, Prabhu Parameswaran - Product, Special thanks to - Varun Adithiyan