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explainer.md

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+# Web Sustainability Guidelines Explainer
+
+Participate / where to discuss more: [Issue tracker](https://github.com/w3c/sustainableweb-wsg/issues) / [Sustainable Web Interest Group](https://www.w3.org/groups/ig/sustainableweb/) / [\#sustainability channel on W3C Slack](https://w3ccommunity.slack.com/archives/C02JETQAQG4)
+
+## The problem we’re solving
+
+The digital industry has a significant sustainability impact, which affects people worldwide: 
+
+- responsible for between **2-5%** of global emissions \[[ICT-IMPACT](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-ict-impact)\] \[[EUC](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-euc)\] \[[8BT](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-8bt)\] \[[UN](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-un)\] \[[WB](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-wb)\], more than those of the aviation industry.   
+- since the Paris Agreement, average web page sizes have increased by over **70%** on desktop and **140%** on mobile \[[PAGE-WEIGHT](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-page-weight)\].   
+- between 2015 and 2021, internet users increased by **60%**, whilst internet traffic increased by **440%** \[[DATA](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/glance.html#bib-data)\]. 
+
+There is plenty of opportunity to reduce that impact, and many organisations want to do so. Reasons include cost-saving, legal compliance and corporate responsibility.
+
+Hands-on advice on how to make digital products and services more sustainable is not currently available in a systematic, widely reviewed, openly developed, and standardised format.
+
+## Approach
+
+The [Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG)](https://www.w3.org/TR/web-sustainability-guidelines/) help design and implement digital products and services that are more sustainable.
+
+The WSG are designed to put people and planet first. They are best practices based on measurable, evidence-based research. They are also aligned with open standards from Global Reporting Initiative ([GRI](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/summary.html#bib-gri)) and where appropriate, are cross-referenced [with other industry best practices](https://www.w3.org/TR/web-sustainability-guidelines/#relationships) such as the General Policy Framework for the Ecodesign of Digital Services and GR491.
+
+The guidelines can be used by individuals and organisations to improve products, and to show progress in their road to becoming more sustainable (the aim is “progress over perfection”).
+
+## Practical use cases
+
+| Audience | They can use WSG to… |
+| :---- | :---- |
+| People making digital products and services (including web developers, user experience designers, infrastructure and system engineers, business strategists, product managers) | …make their products and services more sustainable. |
+| Organisations responsible for digital products and services, sustainability program leaders | …track their progress in improving sustainability. |
+| Authoring Tools and User Agents | …build tooling that helps improve sustainability into their products. |
+| Regulators and policy makers | …have a standardised way to understand what improving sustainability looks like. |
+
+## Alternatives Considered
+
+n/a 
+
+For content organisation, currently by discipline, we previously considered organising by what's tested (website, system, tool), and by [principle](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fsw38rJ0IgF_Vhln6IrSG5YmO6zWk9Fu/view), like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines’ POUR principles. We decided against those, as we considered a filtering system to be the best way for people to find what they want.
+
+## Accessibility, Internationalization, Privacy, and Security Considerations
+
+Where applicable, accessibility, internationalization, privacy, and security have been considered throughout the development of the Web Sustainability Guidelines. [A list of guidelines to these areas](https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/#considerations) is available.