Welcome to the repository of the Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG).
If you would like to learn more about us and how to participate in this project, please check the readme in the W3C Sustainable Web Interest Group repository.
| Date | Details |
|---|---|
| Jan 15 2026 | Existing W3C horizontal review updates ready for inclusion in WSG. |
| Feb 15 2026 | Measurability Task Force scoring consensus and Impact API inclusion. |
| Mar 15 2026 | Conformance Task Force review and updates to satisfy regulatory reporting. |
| Wide review and other W3C horizontal review updates are ready for inclusion in WSG. | |
| Apr 15 2026 | TAG updates ready for inclusion in WSG. |
| IG begins work on new charter (6 months planning). | |
| May 15 2026 | IG completes initial work on supplements prior to WSG submission. |
| IG finalizes workflow changes it can affect, publishing an approach so that other groups can adopt. | |
| Jun 15 2026 | WSG is submitted to W3C for NOTE status. |
| IG begins discussion of educational materials, outreach, tooling, etc, to broaden awareness. | |
| Jul 15 2026 | WSG is readied and submitted for STMT (statement) status (See reminder for Chairs/Editors). |
| Agree on finalized charter, submit to strategy team for review (HR / TiLT, etc), then submit to AC. | |
| Oct 31 2026 | Our charter ends. |
Note: Horizontal review is ongoing and wide review from external parties have been accepted at all stages of WSGs development.
Reminder for Chairs/Editors: 6.4.3 of W3C Process states that during the statement review period, notes must NOT be updated. As editing of any file WILL trigger a new spec release in Echidna (automated publishing), NO merges of PR’s / direct edits should be allowed during this phase.
The chartered focus of the W3C Sustainable Web Interest Group is the development of the Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG) and its deliverables.
Links to relevant documents (based on the CG Draft Report) can be found below.
Guidelines:
| Name | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG) | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
Other Deliverables:
| Name | Status | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sustainable Tooling And Reporting (STAR) | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| Resources for WSG | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| Web Sustainability Laws and Policies | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| Benefits for WSG | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| Summary of Web Sustainability | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| WSG At A Glance | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| Quick Reference for WSG and Checklist (PDF) | W3C Editors Draft | 14 December 2025 |
| WSG JSON API | JSON API | 14 December 2025 |
| STAR JSON API | JSON API | 14 December 2025 |
| STAR Test Suite | Test Suite | 14 December 2025 |
Work is planned in accordance with the issues requiring resolution.
If you would like to contribute towards this specification, please refer to the CONTRIBUTING.md document for details and refer to the guidance on the W3C Sustainable Web Interest Group repository readme regarding participation.
We have two JSON APIs which are kept in sync with the changes occurring within our specification and STAR.
These documents are reachable via GitHub pages and can be queried using JavaScript to embed our data within your client of choice.
WSG (guidelines.json)
category[1].guidelines[0].guideline = "Examine and disclose any external factors interacting with your project"
STAR (star.json)
category[1].techniques[0].title = "Produce a List of Factors To Monitor for Sustainability Impacts"
One method of reaching the API could be through code similar to the below (customize to your requirements):
fetch("https://w3c.github.io/sustainableweb-wsg/guidelines.json")
.then((res) => res.json())
.then((data) => {
console.log(`The First UX Guideline Title is ${data.category[1].guidelines[0].guideline}`); });
Note: To match a WSG guideline to a STAR technique, you can match the guideline testable anchor hash (WSG JSON API) to the technique id (STAR JSON API).
We currently have an Impact API under development that will replace existing scoring metrics within WSG. It will outsource the task of setting measurement scores to a JSON file that will be maintained by the Interest Group’s measurability Task Force. Within this JSON file exists capability to set scores for each success criteria and provide a labeling system with set thresholds. The information about both the labeling system and scores will be fed back to the specification upon availability. Details behind how calculations are drawn can be provided within a dedicated resource.
For details of how this will work in practice, see this slide deck and review the measurability Task Force meeting minutes.
We have a Test Suite which is used to showcase machine testability (as denoted in STAR) for the Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG). The template structure for the file uses common W3C conventions for test cases to maintain interoperability for tooling that wishes to align our work with their own.
Key concepts of note include:
Below are some handy links for contributors to our project: