Behind the Scenes: Our Sustainability Initiatives
At Netmatters, sustainability isn't a box we tick once a year, it's built into how we run the business every day. From reducing our carbon footprint and transitioning to electric vehicles, to investing in renewable energy and planting thousands of trees, we're committed to making a lasting, positive impact on the environment while continuing to grow our business responsibly.
The Numbers Behind the Progress
Back in 2015, with a team of 39 people and a turnover of £2.3 million, our carbon footprint was calculated at 26.7tCO₂e. As the business grew, so did that figure, reaching 52.9tCO₂e in 2020 with 85 employees.
Since then, we've successfully reversed that trend. Despite growing to 114 employees and achieving a turnover of £9.9 million, our 2024 carbon footprint fell to 41.8tCO₂e—an 11.5% reduction on the previous year and a 24.8% reduction overall since we began tracking against our reduction targets.
We're currently working towards reducing our total carbon footprint by 10% each year, adjusted for business growth and turnover, as part of our journey to achieving Net Zero by 2028.
Carbon Charter Gold – Five Years Running
We first achieved the Carbon Charter Award at Silver level in 2019 before progressing to Gold in 2021. Since then, we've successfully retained our Gold accreditation every year, including 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
You can read more about the Carbon Charter Award and what it takes to achieve Gold status here.
Offsetting More Than We Produce
We continue to offset significantly more carbon than we produce. Every year our operations generate around 42 tonnes of CO₂e, but through our ongoing tree planting initiatives and our 100% renewable electricity tariff, we offset approximately 213 tonnes, more than five times our annual emissions.
Our partnership with Ecologi continues to fund tree planting projects around the world, and we've expanded the initiative to celebrate our people too. Every employee reaching five or ten years of service now has 100 trees planted in their honour as part of our long service awards.
Looking ahead, our goal is to remove ten times our annual carbon output by 2030.
Going Electric
Our vehicle fleet has changed dramatically over the past few years. In 2021, just 5 of our 13 vehicles (39%) were fully electric. By 2023, that had increased to 8 of 14 vehicles (58%). By 2025, 11 of our 14 vehicles (79%) were fully electric, with the remaining vehicles being petrol hybrids and no diesel vehicles left in the fleet.
Our target is to operate a fully electric fleet by 2030.
To support that transition, we've installed EV charging points across our sites, introduced a salary sacrifice scheme to help staff lease their own electric vehicles, and made electric bikes and scooters available to teams in Wymondham and Cambridge alongside our existing Cycle to Work scheme.
Powering Our Buildings Sustainably
All of our electricity is supplied through a 100% renewable, zero-carbon tariff, reducing our carbon footprint by around 13.5 tonnes of CO₂e every year.
We've also installed solar panels on our two highest energy-consuming units, supported by battery storage to capture excess energy, saving a further 2.8 tonnes of CO₂e annually. Alongside this, we've upgraded five of our buildings to achieve an EPC rating of A, replaced lighting with low-energy LED alternatives, installed motion sensors in communal areas and improved insulation across our sites.
Reducing IT Waste
As an IT and technology business, responsible disposal of equipment is especially important to us. We've partnered with a specialist recycling supplier, introduced an eco-disposal service for our clients, and launched our Laptops4Learning scheme to keep working technology out of landfill by refurbishing and donating devices to charities wherever possible.
The People Behind the Progress
None of these achievements would be possible without the support and commitment of our team.
Our dedicated Green Team, made up of five staff members, helps shape our environmental strategy and identify new opportunities to reduce our impact. We also provide driver awareness training to encourage more fuel-efficient driving, operate a genuinely paperless office, use 3CX video conferencing to reduce unnecessary travel, and separate recycling, food waste and general waste across every office and kitchen.
What's Next?
Our sustainability journey is far from over.
Over the coming years, we're focused on achieving Net Zero by 2028, transitioning to a fully electric vehicle fleet by 2030, and removing ten times our annual carbon emissions through carbon extraction initiatives.
We're also exploring further investment in solar energy, telematics for our vehicle fleet and smart heating controls to continue reducing our environmental impact.
By measuring our progress, reporting transparently and continually looking for improvements, we're proving that small, consistent changes can make a big difference for our business, our people and the planet.