3 Brilliant Search Engines Doing Social Good

Planet-friendly and respectful of your privacy — are you ready to ditch Google for good?

Each online search you make comes with a cost. But what is that cost in practical terms, and why does it even matter?

If you’re a climate ‘worrier’ who prefers to tune out the overwhelm in order to cope with the world’s environmental woes, you’re not alone.

But if you’re reading this, congratulations! You’ve already won the lottery of life. You’re one of the 6 in 10 people globally with access to the internet.

You also get to make choices (no matter how small), which collectively can turn into rivers of change.

Who’s got the power?

In 2009 Google stated that each search required around 0.0003 kWh of energy (equal to 1 kJ), the equivalent of 0.2 grams of CO2.

In practical terms that would be the same as turning on a 60W lightbulb for 17 seconds — which is good for around 1,000 hours.

This then got me thinking (my mind goes to strange places), about how many Google searches it would take before you’d need to change that lightbulb.

The answer is 211,765.

(And yes, I checked that with a math genius).

So why should you care? Well to draw a broader picture, there are around 2.4 million searches taking place each minute.

This means that Google is already using a mind-boggling amount of power.

In 2020 they used 15.4 terawatt-hours of electricity, up from 12.4 in 2019 — which is more than Sri Lanka and Zambia each use in a year.

A greener way to search

Google has pledged to run on carbon-free energy 24/7 by 2030 — which is encouraging, and frankly, responsible.

But if you’re searching the internet, statistically speaking, you’re also likely to use Google.

But what if, instead of giving your data (and money) to The Big G, your searches could have a measurably positive impact instead?

As someone who is both excited and hopeful about the rise of sustainable brands and technology for social good, I’ve compiled a few of my favourite planet-friendly search engine alternatives for you.

Ecosia

Ecosia is an environmentally conscious search engine alternative that has programmes to plant trees in over 30 countries.

Established in 2009, the company now has around 15 million users and spends 80% of its revenue on trees. At the time of writing, they have planted more than 145 million.

Ecosia is available as a Google Chrome Extension and the company earns money from ad revenue, based on user searches.

I came across Ecosia a few years ago and loved its social mission.

Ecosia programmes are helping to raise the standard of living for many people in developing countries and reducing the environmental impact of intensive farming, desertification, and more.

Something that gives them extra credibility, is that they are totally transparent.

In January this year, the Berlin-based company reported €2,377,128 in revenue, the bulk of which paid for 1,833,298 trees.

The site shares a lot of detail, revealing the names of their partners, the overarching objective of each project, the number of trees, and even the species planted.

In their January breakdown, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali projects received the most support.

Fighting climate change

In Burkina Faso, it’s all about re-greening the desert. Ecosia reports having restored 14,137 hectares since 2014. While in Senegal, the focus is on forest gardens and creating biodiversity to fight malnutrition and boost farmers’ incomes. What’s not to love?

There are many underdeveloped countries that are susceptible to climate change. And for people living rurally, earning an income can be tenuous. Tree planting programmes like Ecosia’s are making a meaningful impact on the ground.

When it comes to your data, Ecosia says: We’re interested in trees, not your data: we don’t save your searches, we don’t track the websites you visit, we don’t sell your data to advertisers, and your searches are always SSL-encrypted.

Happy planting!

Ekoru

Ekoru is the search engine with a mission to clean up our oceans.

It can also be installed as a Google Chrome extension and is available for Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

Ekoru also generates income through advertising (when users click on sponsored links) and donate 60% of their revenues to ocean conservation partners Operation Posidonia and Big Blue Ocean Cleanup.

Operation Posidonia is committed to replanting ocean seagrass — considered as the forests of our oceans. While Big Blue Ocean Cleanup supports global teams to clean coastal areas, waterways, and oceans, and also gather samples that measure microplastic levels.

Plastic is not fantastic

In 2010 the journal Science published findings stating that an estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tonnes of plastic enters the ocean each year.

Scientists warned that by 2025 this could increase by “an order of magnitude” (which isn’t clear by how much but let’s assume it’s a lot more).

Obviously, this has a devastating impact on marine life. And while there are some promising changes to the way we can switch out, reuse, and recycle plastics, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation still estimates that around one-third of the world’s plastic packaging waste is ‘lost’ in our environment.

Like Ecosia, Ekoru does not collect user data. All searches are anonymous and no information is stored on their (hydroelectrically powered) servers.

Elliot for Water

Water is life. Elliot for Water understands this well and the company has a mission to provide 1 million people access to safe water by 2025.

Elliot for Water is also available as a Google Chrome extension and like Ekora, they donate 60% of ad revenues to social causes.

At the time of writing, over 3 million litres of water have already been donated as a result of online searches.

Water and our climate

In rich Western countries, access to clean water isn’t something people really need to think about. And while in 2022 access to safe water should be a basic human right for everyone, sadly this isn’t the case.

UNICEF and the World Health Organisation report that one in three people globally still don’t have access to clean water.

That’s 2.2 billion people without access to safely managed drinking water and a massive 3 billion people that are not able to safely wash their hands.

Surely, we can do better.

Elliot for Water is also privacy-focused and actively engages with businesses looking to get involved with more Corporate Social Responsibility actions.

Check them out!

The final word

We know that there is no Planet B. (Sorry Elon, I’m not with you on the Mars thing).

And we also know that when enough people make choices that favour the health of the planet, then collectively, we do make an impact.

If there’s one positive thing that the pandemic showed us, it’s just how much the planet benefited from having less pollution in the streets, roads, seas and skies.

Time will tell whether our collective choices are enough to move the needle on climate change and environmental damage in the coming years.

For now, one thing you can do is try a new way of searching online and test drive one of these search engines dedicated to doing social good.