For more than ten years, the “web eco-design” framework has supported digital professionals seeking to create more resource-efficient services. Published in June 2025, its fifth edition marks a discreet yet structuring evolution. It does not overturn existing principles but rather refines, clarifies, and makes them easier for teams to apply, including those responsible for content, design, or marketing and communication strategy.

A new version in a context of digital accountability

Sustainable digital practices are gaining ground. Long associated with technical issues, the concept of digital sobriety now extends to uses, user journeys, and editorial choices. It also calls into question how brands and institutions build their online presence.

In this landscape, the framework developed by the Green IT collective holds a special place. Structured around 115 practices, it is used in many public and private projects. Its new version, published in June 2025, reflects more than ten years of feedback and aligns with official frameworks such as the RGESN, now essential for public sector stakeholders.

A revised version to better guide practices

While the number of best practices remains unchanged (115), their presentation has been revised to make them easier to read and adopt. Grouped by life cycle phase (design, development, hosting, maintenance) and accompanied by a prioritization system, they can be progressively integrated by project teams, including non-technical profiles.

To support implementation, the website https://rweb.greenit.fr/ allows users to consult best practices, access detailed step-by-step sheets, and review an environmental maturity assessment grid (available in English in Excel or Word format). An expanded version of the framework (le “petit livre vert,” published by Eyrolles) additionally offers concrete case studies and testing rules.

Actionable guidelines for all professions in the digital life cycle

Organized by project phase and prioritized by level of importance, the framework makes it easier to distribute efforts among the various roles involved in the design or evolution of a digital service. Designers, developers, product managers, CSR officers, or content managers will find entry points suited to their scope. Version 5 makes this work clearer, enabling everyone to contribute without necessarily mastering all technical aspects.

Some recommendations address the structuring of user journeys, streamlining interfaces, managing media, or optimizing content. Others deal directly with code, architecture, server efficiency, or client-side resource management. The framework also incorporates criteria related to accessibility, readability, and the overall environmental performance of the service.

Another key point: compatibility with the RGESN, the official public framework and ongoing European directives (notably the CSRD and the ESPR regulation) enhances the document’s usefulness for compliance, internal evaluation, or non-financial reporting. By relying on verifiable practices, organizations can substantiate their efforts without depending on proprietary tools or symbolic statements.

A framework for moving from intention to method

Expectations around sustainable digital practices are becoming clearer. But between stated goals and actual practices, the gap often remains significant. The fifth edition of the framework doesn’t solve everything, but it provides structure. It helps turn commitments into organization, constraints into trade-offs, and principles into working criteria.

It is not a tool to be applied uniformly. It is a foundation on which teams can rely to progress, adjust, and document. In this way, it supports a transition that no longer rests on broad intentions, but on situated practices compatible with the realities of digital projects.

Sources :  https://www.greenit.fr/2025/06/23/le-collectif-green-it-publie-la-5eme-edition-du-referentiel-ecoconception-web-les-115-bonnes-pratiques/

Similar Insights

All insights