How a Small Creative Agency is Navigating the New Unknowns of AI Carbon Footprints

Nowadays, it doesn’t matter if your small business sells clothing or consultations, metal parts or market research: AI is becoming a growing part of how businesses operate. As digital platforms and AI rapidly transform the business landscape, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of all kinds face a new frontier in sustainability: how to understand and manage impacts of rapidly evolving digital technologies like AI.

UK-based strategic creative agency We Are Tilt are part of a vanguard of SMEs that are navigating these uncharted waters. For a small team, We Are Tilt is taking on big challenges: pioneering approaches to measure the impacts of AI-enabled work, executing localized double-mitigation environmental strategies, and ethical accountability. 

As a signatory of The Climate Pledge (TCP), We Are Tilt is part of a global community of companies committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. In this Q&A, they share how embedding climate action into their corporate DNA from day one and engaging with The Climate Pledge community have helped them navigate complex Scope 3 emissions, pass rigorous corporate procurement standards, and uplift their entire supply chain.

When, why, and how was your business started?

We Are Tilt was born 15 years ago in 2009, founded by our directors with a vision to make powerful business transformation happen through digital storytelling. Today, we use film, websites, motion, graphic design, animation, and live events to connect with audiences. From the very beginning, our founding team wanted to build an ethical business. We are far from perfect, but everyone in the studio—from our directors to our employees—is deeply committed to getting it right.

When did climate action first become a priority for your business?

There wasn’t a single “wakeup call” moment because sustainability and community have been baked into our DNA from day one. Back in 2009, climate action wasn’t considered a “sexy” or mainstream business subject, but our founders tried to make it a normal part of our studio environment. Long before we ever applied for certifications, our team pushed us to sign up for the Living Wage, prioritize community pro-bono work, and set up robust recycling systems.

As we grew, we realized we needed to pull these piecemeal efforts together. In 2022, we became a certified B Corp, which then led us to join the SME Climate Hub, The Climate Pledge, and the Better Business Act. Making these formal commitments has allowed us to calculate, challenge, and certify what we’ve always tried to do naturally.

What climate action steps have you taken?

Because we are a digital creative agency that doesn’t manufacture physical goods, people often assume it’s easy for us to be zero-waste or net-zero. But digital agencies use a massive amount of resources, and some of it has a significant environmental footprint.

Here are the concrete steps we’ve taken:

• Waste management: We recycle over 90% of the waste in our Brighton studio.
• Pro-bono support: We provide creative services to local, genuinely sustainable initiatives like Sussex Grazed and the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.
• Nature protection: We buy voluntary Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) units to protect and conserve a piece of land in our local South Downs National Park for the next 30 years.
• AI carbon management: We use carbon credits to offset our films and our use of AI.

We Are Tilt provided client Deloitte with a bespoke digital onboarding platform to welcome new joiners to the company.

You are uniquely measuring your AI emissions. Can you explain your approach and what motivated you?

We are leading the way with AI in our creative practices, using it across more than half of our work. AI currently relies on energy-intensive computing infrastructure, making it an important part of a company’s broader emissions profile.  

Measuring AI emissions was nearly impossible at first. To tackle this, we established an internal AI focus group and collaborated with a professor from the University of Brighton. By analyzing our usage of tools like Gemini and various animation platforms, we calculated that trialing these tools added roughly two tonnes of carbon to our footprint. We used ecology carbon credits to offset this impact, introducing a double-mitigation strategy alongside our local South Downs project. We want our tiny journey to serve as a roadmap for our clients as they become curious about their own AI footprints.

What is the greatest challenge you face to reducing emissions?

Like most digital SMEs with hybrid workforces, our biggest hurdle is Scope 3 emissions. Tracking the energy used by employees working remotely, business travel for client visits, film shoots, and the unseen environmental costs of cloud services and digital platforms is incredibly complex.

Furthermore, downstream impact is a challenge. Some of our digital campaigns are massively successful and viewed by millions of people across 60+ countries.

Then there’s the emissions of our suppliers. We have to consider both the impact of large tech providers and our micro-suppliers, which can be especially challenging. You can’t exactly demand a comprehensive net-zero plan from a local independent plumber.

How has committing to The Climate Pledge (TCP) helped your journey?

It gives us a sense of accountability toward the 2040 net-zero target and connects us to a global community of more than 700 companies committed to climate action, including the big players. Being a part of The Climate Pledge adds massive credibility, trust, and inclusion for an SME like us.

You attended The Climate Pledge Hub during London Climate Action Week. What is the value of collaborating with peers?

This year at The Climate Pledge Hub, there was a noticeable shift in focus to practical negotiation and capability building for suppliers.

For instance, during a TCP Hub session focused on embedding sustainability into procurement, we discussed the “give and take” of supplier relationships. We offer preferential terms — such as paying our suppliers sooner—if they provide us with a net-zero plan. We also actively provide competency training to our micro-suppliers. Working as a sole operator can feel incredibly lonely, but building up their capabilities helps us take giant steps together.

For another client, 200 year-old Lloyd’s Register, We Are Tilt created an interactive career progression portal to enhance employee career development.

How has learning to calculate your emissions footprint enabled you to cut carbon?

You simply cannot manage what you do not measure. When we first used the Small Business Carbon Calculator, it was both wonderful and intimidating to see our benchmark data. It confirmed our suspicions regarding our Scope 3 footprint.

Calculating our emissions gave us the confidence to prioritize where we could have the greatest impact. We recalculate every year, adjusting our benchmarks and refining our approach. Even if your first attempt is a rough estimate, just getting started with a calculator is the most important step.

How does climate action benefit your business?

First and foremost, we need a healthy planet to keep doing business. But on a commercial level, showing our true colors attracts incredible talent who share our values. Additionally, we work with massive, blue-chip clients. Having verified sustainability stamps of approval helps us pass through strict procurement processes. Large companies want to trust that they are hiring ethical, sustainable partners—and we can prove that we are exactly that.

Do you have any advice for other small businesses starting out on their climate journeys?

Don’t wait for perfection: start by starting! There is a whole world of free resources available through organizations like the SME Climate Hub, so you don’t need to spend thousands on consultants. Put together a small internal team that includes at least one key decision-maker, give them the time to define what you already have, and just sink your teeth into it.