Madison Reduces Its Business Carbon Footprint by 23%

 Madison Reduces Its Business Carbon Footprint by 23%

At Madison Web Solutions, sustainability starts with understanding our impact. Measuring our business carbon footprint gives us the evidence we need to identify our main emission sources, make informed changes and track our progress in reducing emissions.

Our first carbon footprint report established a baseline for the business. Our latest assessment shows that Madison’s reported emissions fell from 30.61 tCO₂e to 24.13 tCO₂e, a reduction of approximately 23%.

It’s a significant step in our carbon reduction plan, but there’s still more we want to achieve.

Our Carbon Footprint Is Already Below the UK Average

Looking at a company’s total emissions matters, but its carbon footprint per employee provides additional context when comparing businesses of different sizes.

Madison’s latest SME carbon footprint assessment puts our emissions at 1.86 tCO₂e per employee, down from 2.35 tCO₂e in our previous report.

For comparison, the UK average is just over 3 tCO₂e per employee for professional services SMEs with 10 or more employees.*

That means Madison is already operating well below this benchmark. However, our focus isn’t simply on performing better than average. We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint further as we work towards our wider net zero targets.

Where Do Madison’s Carbon Emissions Come From?

Understanding our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions means looking beyond the energy we use directly.

Our 2025 assessment estimates Madison’s total emissions at 24.13 tCO₂e, comprising:

• Scope 1 emissions: 2.741 tCO₂e
• Scope 2 emissions: 2.594 tCO₂e
• Scope 3 emissions: 18.79 tCO₂e

Looking at Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, alongside Scope 3 emissions, gives us a broader view of our environmental impact.

Our Scope 3 assessment covers emissions across our wider value chain, including purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel and energy-related activities, waste, business travel, employee commuting, homeworking and upstream leased assets.

In many organisations, emissions can occur throughout supply chains, from raw materials and purchased products to transportation and services. Understanding these indirect impacts is an important part of developing a meaningful approach to carbon reduction.

Carbon calculations also rely on appropriate emissions factors to convert activities such as electricity use, fuel consumption and travel into estimated CO₂e. Consistent measurement gives businesses a baseline against which future progress can be assessed.

How We’re Continuing to Reduce Our Carbon Footprint

Our 23% reduction is progress we’re delighted to share, but achieving net zero requires ongoing action rather than a one-off exercise.

We’re continuing to assess how Madison operates, where further reductions can be made and how sustainability can form part of the decisions we make as a business.

A Positive Move to Fully Electric Travel

One of the changes we’re particularly pleased to have made is moving our lease-hire vehicle from petrol to fully electric.

While we’re only talking about one company vehicle, it’s still a positive and practical change. Where we have the opportunity to directly reduce an emission source, we want to take it.

Moving to an electric vehicle means removing petrol from our day-to-day company vehicle use and represents another step forward in our wider carbon reduction plan.

It’s one change, but an important one, and exactly the type of practical action we want to continue making as we work towards our net zero targets.

Where appropriate, alternatives such as public transport, electric vehicles and reducing unnecessary journeys can also help businesses address emissions associated with travel and commuting.

Understanding Our Electricity Consumption

Our carbon footprint assessment also includes purchased electricity, with Madison’s 2025 Scope 2 emissions calculated at 2.594 tCO₂e.

Understanding our electricity consumption helps us identify where further reductions could be made. The source of that energy matters too, with renewable electricity offering another way for businesses to address emissions associated with their energy use.

Measuring Our Digital Carbon Footprint

As a web design, development and marketing agency, we also need to consider an area of environmental impact particularly relevant to our industry: digital activity.

Every website has a digital carbon footprint. Data needs to be transferred, processed and stored, while servers and the associated infrastructure require electricity to operate.

We’ve therefore assessed Madison’s own website carbon footprint and included it within our wider 2025 carbon footprint assessment.

Our Web Sustainability Audit measured 18,500 views across 164 pages, estimating total emissions of 12.07 kg CO₂e and energy use of 22.61 kWh over the reporting period.

The assessment reviewed end-user devices, network activity and the data centre, helping us better understand the environmental impact of our own digital presence.

Measuring Our AI Use in 2026

Our approach to measuring our digital footprint will continue to develop in 2026, including an area that’s becoming increasingly relevant to Madison and the wider digital industry: AI use.

AI tools rely on data centre infrastructure and computing resources, so we believe our use of AI should also form part of the conversation when assessing Madison’s digital impact.

During 2024 and much of 2025, we didn’t have a centralised way of accurately reviewing AI usage across Madison. We now have centralised Madison workspaces, giving us greater visibility of how these tools are being used across the business.

For 2026, we intend to start measuring and monitoring our AI usage, including token usage where this data is available, so we can better understand its contribution to our digital footprint.

This is another example of why our carbon reporting will continue to evolve. As our ability to measure different areas of the business improves, we want the scope of what we assess to improve with it.

Why Data Centres Matter to Digital Sustainability

Websites and AI tools don’t exist without physical infrastructure. The data centres supporting digital services require electricity for computing, data processing and storage, alongside supporting infrastructure such as cooling systems.

That’s why digital sustainability isn’t just about how a website looks. Website performance, page weight, hosting, AI usage and the infrastructure supporting these services can all form part of the conversation.

As a web design, development and marketing agency, we believe understanding this impact is particularly important. Our aim isn’t just to measure the areas we’re already able to report on, but to keep improving what we measure as our access to reliable data develops.

For us, sustainable web design means considering environmental impact alongside usability, accessibility, SEO, performance and the commercial objectives of a website.

Helping Businesses Understand Their Website Carbon Footprint

Our own work in this area has also helped us develop a practical way for clients to better understand their digital impact.

Madison’s website carbon footprint calculator reviews a site’s heaviest pages, overall capacity and hosting, alongside recommendations to help identify where improvements could be made.

For businesses interested in reducing their carbon footprint, understanding the impact of their website provides another practical starting point.

It can also highlight opportunities to create a more efficient, high-quality website that balances performance, user experience and environmental considerations.

Introducing Green Website Hosting

We’ve also introduced green website hosting through a provider certified as net zero, giving clients another way to address the environmental impact of their websites.

Our sustainable website hosting service will also include an annual Digital Carbon Calculator report, helping clients measure their website’s carbon footprint over time and identify opportunities for further improvements.

Continuing Our Work With SME Climate Hub

Measurement is only useful when it leads to action.

Through the SME Climate Hub, we’re continuing our education, action planning and assessment to help inform the next stages of Madison’s sustainability work.

Reaching net zero requires businesses to understand their emissions, reduce them where practical and set measurable targets for continued improvement.

International frameworks such as the Paris Agreement provide the wider context for global efforts to address climate change. As an SME, our focus is on the practical actions we can take within our own organisation.

What’s Next? Our Net Zero Targets

Our ambition is to work towards becoming a net zero business before 2027, with further emissions reductions remaining at the centre of our plans.

We’re also exploring carbon offsetting options as part of that journey. Our priority is to continue identifying opportunities to reduce our own emissions while considering how appropriate offsetting could contribute towards our longer-term objectives.

For us, achieving net zero isn’t about one change or one report. It’s about measuring consistently, understanding our impact and making informed improvements year after year.

Our first two reports show why measuring matters: it gives us a baseline, helps us focus our efforts and allows us to track progress.

30.61 tCO₂e → 24.13 tCO₂e

2.35 tCO₂e per employee → 1.86 tCO₂e per employee

Approximately 23% reduction in reported emissions.

We’re moving in the right direction, and we’re committed to going further and doing more.

Let’s Make Digital More Sustainable

If your organisation is reviewing its environmental impact, your digital presence can be part of the conversation too.

Whether you want to understand your website’s carbon footprint, use our website carbon footprint calculator, explore green website hosting, or simply have a chat about digital sustainability, sustainable web design or your own carbon reduction plans, we’d love to help.

And if you’re just getting started and don’t know where to begin, please do get in touch.

Let’s make digital more sustainable.