IGF 2024 Open Forum #31 Leveraging Internet Standards for Sustainable websites

    Theater
    Duration (minutes): 60
    Format description: This session format encourages interaction with the audience and enables the speakers to collect input from the participants. The theater layout is most fitting for this session as the speakers will share their expertise with the visitors and it enables participants to speak to one another in the audience. We also believe a 60-minute session fits best for this Open Forum as we will have enough time to share knowledge as well as giving the audience the opportunity to share their experiences and thoughts.

    Description

    As the digital landscape continues to expand, so does its environmental impact. In this session, we delve into the pivotal role of internet standards in fostering sustainable website development. Our goal is to explore practical strategies, existing standards, and their tangible effects on website sustainability. Greening the web is a collaborative effort, uniting developers, policymakers, and users alike. By promoting sustainable practices through the utilization of internet standards, we cultivate a digital ecosystem that benefits both our planet and future generations.

    The Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG) 1.0, developed by the Sustainable Web Design Community Group, provide actionable recommendations for creating sustainable digital products and services. These guidelines are based on measurable, evidence-based research and align with the Sustainable Web Manifesto. We propose replicating and measuring the impact of existing standards and sustainability guidelines. By applying these principles to a testing infrastructure, we can assess their effectiveness. Specifically, we’ll explore how existing standards impact energy consumption, resource usage, and overall website sustainability.

    Our findings will be integrated into accessible tools, ensuring that the test setup is replicable and encourage other stakeholders to adopt sustainable practices and contribute to a greener web. By creating an open-source tool, participants will be able to share these insights within their own communities and foster the implementation of internet standards for a more sustainable Internet. Our goal is to create lasting impact beyond the session, shaping a more sustainable digital landscape for all. Collectively, with the support of Internet standards, we can build our multistakeholder digital future more sustainably.


    In this open forum, we will actively promote hybrid participation. The online moderator will engage online participants and will be in continuous contact with the onsite moderator. They will make sure the online and onsite participants are actively engaged in the discussions together. Additionally, we will use a (hopefully open source) tool to receive input from the audience and use the live polling tool to get insight into the current knowledge of the participants and their expectations.

    Organizers

    Logius, Ministry of the interior and Kingdom relations
    Dorijn Boogaard, ECP Platform for the Information Society, Civil Society, WEOG
    Hannah Boute, ECP Platform for the Information Society, WEOG.
    Coen, ECP Platform for the Information Society, Civil Society, WEOG
    Rachel Kuijlenburg, Logius, Government, WEOG
    Hans Laagland, Koop, Government, WEOG

    Speakers

    Annemieke Toersen, Forum Standaardisatie, Government, WEOG
    Fershad Irani, Green Web Foundation & W3C, Technical Community, Asia-Pacific Group
    Maarten Botterman, ICANN, Civil Society, WEOG
    Rachel Kuijlenburg, Logius, Government, WEOG

    Onsite Moderator

    Hannah Boute, ECP Platform for the Information Society, Civil Society, WEOG

    Online Moderator

    Dorijn Boogaard, ECP Platform for the Information Society, Civil Society, WEOG

    Rapporteur

    Coen Wesselman, ECP Platform for the Information Society, Civil Society, WEOG

    SDGs

    7. Affordable and Clean Energy
    7.1
    7.2
    7.3
    7.a
    7.b
    12. Responsible Production and Consumption
    12.7
    17. Partnerships for the Goals
    17.7


    Targets: This session related to both SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, SDG 12 Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals. SDG 7.3 underlines the importance of internet standards to accelerate the energy transition and is crucial to increase the share of renewable energy used to power the world wide web. Internet standards help with SDG 12, and specifically SDG 12.7 by handing ways to enforce sustainable practices for the procurement, production, and management of government and corporate websites. Furthermore, this session also supports SDG 17: Partnership for the Goals by emphasizing the importance of cooperation, knowledge exchange, and accessibility. Particularly, the promotion of environmentally sound technologies is underscored within this session. .