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This week on Marketing vs The World, Abbie chats to Matt Wheeler, founder of Made by Studio and Green Tech Gathering, about the carbon footprint of websites, the environmental impact of digital waste, and why sustainability in web design is about to become a seriously hot topic.

Not sure what sustainable websites are and if you need one? Listen to the full episode.

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Digital Carbon Really Matters

“The homepage alone was generating 360 tonnes of CO2 per year.”

Let that one sink in. Matt shares a shocking example from an audit they ran for Jet2 Holidays, which highlights just how carbon-heavy websites can be when not built with sustainability in mind. From video content to excessive code and unoptimised images, every file your website loads burns more energy—and at scale, the environmental cost is huge.

And it’s not just about the big players. As Matt explains, any brand with a high-traffic site (especially in ecommerce) should be taking sustainability seriously.

“If you’re a company with sustainability at your core, then your website needs to align with those values too.”

Hear more about sustainable websites and why they matter in the full episode.

Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify

Why We’re All Guilty of Digital Waste

As marketers, we love content. We create it, schedule it, optimise it, share it, and then… forget about it. But Matt points out that 97% of content indexed by Google is never seen again—yet it’s still hosted, crawled, and contributing to global emissions.

“You've got to get mindful. Every bit of content you create has an energy cost.”

So what can we do about it? For a start:

Ditch old blog posts that get zero traffic.
Optimise images properly.
Avoid autoplay videos unless absolutely necessary.
Minimise the number of clicks it takes for users to find key pages.
Host your site on a green server.

Tools like Website Carbon Calculator or Screaming Frog’s emissions data feature are a good place to start. And if you want something deeper, Matt’s agency offers full sustainability audits (like a digital MOT for your site).

Want more tips? Listen to the full episode.

Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify

And then there’s the personal side…

In the ‘Versus the World’ section, Matt opens up about being diagnosed with autism and ADHD in his late twenties. After years of feeling “eccentric” or just “different”, he finally got a formal diagnosis—first autism, then ADHD—after pushing back against an unhelpful GP.

“It derailed my mindset for a bit… but it explained a lot.”

Matt explains how he balances both conditions in agency life—how autism helps him stay focused and organised, and how ADHD pushes him into creative chaos. The result? A surprisingly perfect combo for agency leadership.

Key Takeaways

Sustainable websites are more than a buzzword—they’re fast becoming essential for purpose-driven brands.
Every image, video, and blog post contributes to your site’s carbon footprint—so don’t overload it.
Compress assets, cut down user journeys, and consider switching to a renewable host.
Neurodiversity in leadership is a strength, not a weakness—and Matt’s story proves it.
Clear out your digital clutter. If no one’s reading it, why are you keeping it?

Ready to clean up your corner of the internet?

Listen to the full episode with Matt Wheeler to learn what a sustainable site actually looks like—and how to start building one:

Listen on Apple | Listen on Spotify

Connect With Us

For more insights and updates on the world of marketing, follow Abbie Dando and Monday Clicks. And don’t forget to subscribe to Marketing vs The World so you never miss an episode.

DISCLAIMER

This article has been created using various AI tools, which transcribe raw audio and transform the content into a blog post. This helps us ensure each Marketing vs The World episode is released as quickly as possible.

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