Sustainability has become a badge that many businesses want to wear proudly – and rightly so.
Organisations are finding smarter ways to reduce their impact from packaging to supply chains. But a worrying pattern is emerging when it comes to digital spaces: websites promoted as “sustainable” often don’t live up to their own marketing.
At OYNK, we spend every day helping businesses lower their digital emissions and build faster, cleaner, high-performance websites. Along the way, we’ve seen a growing gap between claims and data — what we call The Greenwash Gap.
In a recent anonymised sample of newly launched websites that publicly claim to be “sustainable” or “low-carbon”, independent carbon testing told a different story.
Almost every site tested fell into the bottom third of internet performance for emissions, with energy use per page load significantly higher than industry averages. But on their websites, the claim is that all of their clients scored ‘A’ on certain calculators.
The truth is, most green web agencies want to build greener sites – but they rely on single-use tools or one-off optimisations that don’t capture the full picture. Without ongoing measurement and accountability, it’s easy for a site’s carbon footprint to climb again within weeks of launch.
We’re not naming names because this isn’t about blame. It’s about education.
When an agency labels a site “sustainable” or “green”, that assessment is often based on a theoretical build of efficient code, minimal assets and perhaps green hosting.
But independent tests look at what’s delivered to the browser, and that’s where the gap appears.
Here are the most common reasons why supposedly “sustainable” sites still perform poorly:
Autoplay videos – Large background videos look impressive, but increase load size dramatically.
Unoptimised imagery – Oversized or uncompressed images can multiply emissions per page view.
Third-party scripts – Tracking, chatbots and embedded widgets often account for over 40% of a site’s total data weight.
No post-launch maintenance – Without continuous monitoring, updates and marketing add-ons can quietly undo early optimisation work.
Each of these can easily turn a theoretically efficient site into one that consumes more energy than two-thirds of the web.
That’s why at OYNK, sustainability isn’t a one-time tick box.
Every site we build is tracked, verified and maintained using our own technology – EcoPigs – a live emissions-monitoring platform that measures actual carbon output in real time. Clients can see their results, track progress, and get actionable recommendations for keeping their site performing at its cleanest.
We also train our clients to understand why these numbers matter. Education is as important as optimisation; the best way to keep the web sustainable is to share knowledge, not just data.
If you’ve ever been told your website is “green” or “low-carbon”, it’s worth testing it independently.
Here’s a quick self-audit checklist:
Run a carbon test – Tools such as EcoPigs.co.uk or websitecarbon.com to give an instant overview of your site’s emissions.
Check your hosting – Is your web host powered by renewable energy?
Review media – Replace autoplay videos with still imagery or user-triggered playback.
Optimise images – Resize, compress and use modern formats like AVIF or WebP.
Audit scripts – Remove or delay non-essential third-party scripts.
Monitor regularly – Re-test monthly; if your score worsens, investigate what changed. If you use EcoPigs, we rescan your website every night at midnight to give you the most up to date notifications if something changes.
Sustainability isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress that can be proven.
By shifting focus from “green branding” to verified measurement, businesses can make genuine, transparent progress — and gain performance benefits at the same time. Cleaner websites load faster, convert better, and use less energy.
At OYNK, we build sustainability into the heart of every design, monitor every site we launch, and teach every client how to keep improving. Because digital sustainability isn’t a service we sell — it’s who we are.
Run a free EcoPigs scan today and see how your site really performs – data, not guesswork.
