The Green Web

The Green Web

Automatically check the sustainability of a website with The Green Web add-on.

What is The Green Web?
'The Green Web' is an innovative Chrome extension that lets you see the sustainability of a website at a glance. It does this by identifying the energy source powering the servers the website runs on. Additionally, this extension visually differentiates between sites run on renewable power and those run on fossil fuels in search results. The aim is to encourage users to frequent websites that opt for green energy solutions. The Green Web Foundation maintains an open database of green datacentres globally, which powers these insights. With an added feature of ethical filtering, it offers a eco-friendly browsing experience. It is an open-source platform with all its code available on GitHub.
Merlin
Stats
Users: 967 ▲ 1
Rating: 3.32 (19)
Version: 2.3.0 (Last updated: 2020-07-17)
Creation date: 2020-05-25
Risk impact: High risk impact
Risk likelihood: Very low risk likelihood
Manifest version: 2
Permissions:
  • http://api.thegreenwebfoundation.org/
  • webNavigation
  • tabs
  • storage
Size: 307.20K
Stats date:

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Merlin
Summary

With the Green Web add-on, you can see the green (or not so green) status of a website at glance, based on what kind of energy is used to power the servers it runs on.

Is the site running on green power? Hurray! Smiley face! Is the site is still running on grey power, from fossil fuels? Boo! You'll see a sad face. Why not ask them to switch?

But wait! There's more!

If you search with Google, Yahoo, Bing or Ecosia, you'll see which sites in results run on renewable power - green links get smiley faces in the results.

Also, if you're on a page with links to external sites, you can see if the external site is hosted on green servers too. Links to green sites have a checked green underline on them.

The Green Web Foundation maintains an open database listing which datacentres around the world run on green power. We use this to present this information in this browser extension.

Both the platform, and the browser extension are open source, so if want, you can see what's happening under the hood when you use the service.

See more
User reviews
User reviews summary
These summaries are automatically generated weekly using AI based on recent user reviews. Chrome Web Store does not verify user reviews, so some user reviews may be inaccurate, spammy, or outdated.
Pros
  • The extension is meant to promote eco-friendly browsing
  • Easy to see if certain green-related sites are genuinely eco-friendly
  • Users appreciate the concept behind the extension
Cons
  • Lack of sufficient information on how it determines if a site is 'green'
  • Inconsistencies in the classification of some sites
  • No way of knowing if a certain site is gray because they have no data on it or because it's actually 'not green'
Most mentioned
  • Need clarity on the criteria for being labeled 'green'
  • Facebook and Google are labelled as green, but Ecosia search is not
  • The host must be registered in the extension's database to get a green smiley
Recent reviews
N'a pas l'air de fonctionner sur mon PC portable. Je n'ai tout simplement pas de pastille qui s'affiche devant mes résultats de recherche
by Thibault Menz Thibault Menz, 2021-09-02

There's no information on the criteria on which it draws its conclusion. Read Nichol Brummer's review, I completely agree with it. We don't know if it's even neutral or something, google and facebook green but not ecosia search? Right... Also, you only have "green" sites, but no way of knowing if a certain site is gray because they have no data on it or because it's actually "not green". Meh. No way of knowing if this thing is accurate.
by AngieMel Ruiz-Rigade AngieMel Ruiz-Rigade, 2019-08-23

l'ecologie est très importante
by Jean lemart Jean lemart, 2019-07-27
View all user reviews
Safety
Risk impact

The Green Web is risky to use as it requires a number of sensitive permissions that can potentially harm your browser and steal your data. Exercise caution when installing this extension. Review carefully before installing. We recommend that you only install The Green Web if you trust the publisher.

Risk likelihood

The Green Web has earned a good reputation and can be trusted.

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Screenshots
Promo images
The Green Web small promo image
Small promo image
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