Sustainability in the Digital Age: Assessing the Carbon Footprint of E-commerce Platforms

Sustainability is one of the development trends of various businesses, including those focused on digital channels. One example of the practical engagement is the care taken to minimize emissions of the various greenhouse gases, e.g. carbon dioxide. While e-commerce does not directly affect emissions, it does consume electricity, the generation of which increases the amount of \(CO_2\) in the atmosphere. This paper focuses on analyzing the carbon footprint of the top 100 most popular Polish e-shops in order to verify their commitment to sustainability. The research uses a measurement method used in online carbon footprint calculators, which, despite significant simplifications, allows a rough estimate of a website’s impact on carbon dioxide emissions. Nevertheless, the perceived limitations of the algorithm used made it possible to suggest directions for its development, which could significantly affect the accuracy of the calculations.