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Summary
Addressing climate in your UX work can feel out-of-bounds, but this story—and the approach it inspired—proves otherwise. While helping to optimise a client’s website for performance, James had a eureka moment: realising that if you focus on minimising key user journeys, you create the maximum value for users and the business while minimising your impact on the planet. Building on that insight, James has developed a simple and practical digital decarbonisation approach that empowers UX professionals to integrate climate-conscious approaches into their everyday work by focussing on minimising the carbon footprint of their highest value user journeys. Watch this session learn the benefits of minimising and how to use this approach to help them create better user experiences that create the maximum value for the business and our users, while minimising their impact on the planet. Key takeaways: How to use this approach to create space for climate-conscious work in your UX role Why minimising benefits people, planet, performance and profit Pragmatic methods for achieving sustainable outcomes in real-world projects How to decarbonise high-value user journeys by minimising and applying the W3C’s Web Sustainability Guidelines
Key Insights
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Reducing page weight can significantly lower carbon emissions.
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Designing for performance and sustainability aligns with UX goals.
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A focus on minimizing helps UX professionals integrate sustainability without complicating user experience.
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Data from tools like Google Lighthouse can be used to assess website carbon footprints.
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Sustainability can be approached incrementally, starting with small improvements in specific journeys.
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Visualization helps stakeholders understand the carbon impact of their design choices.
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Using familiar UX principles, such as simplifying design, can also aid environmental efforts.
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Developing a sense of purpose in work boosts motivation for sustainable practices.
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Sustainability discussions can be framed around business performance to gain organizational support.
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Collaboration and feedback will improve sustainability frameworks in design.
Notable Quotes
"The goal of the project was to disseminate information—nothing about it ever said sustainability."
"We can find climate and sustainability opportunities in our regular design work."
"Minimizing things means less energy used and clearer experiences for users."
"Users should never need to feel responsible for making sustainable choices; we do the heavy lifting for them."
"Take the knowledge and skills you already have in UX design and apply them towards minimizing carbon footprints."
"Aim for progress over perfection. Continuous improvement is key."
"We're already skilled at simplifying complex processes—let's apply that to our environmental impact."
"Don't let the complexity of sustainability overwhelm you; start small and build from there."
"Information architecture is a lost art; maintaining things is crucial for sustainability."
"Building a sustainably designed project shouldn't be an overwhelming endeavor; use guidelines as a to-do list."
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