SOZO Wins Global Award for Best Sustainable Web Design

Award winning web design

This month, SOZO has been given an international award in the “Best Sustainable Web Design” category at the 2025 w3 Awards, a global celebration of creativity and innovation in digital design.

In this blog, SOZO founder Shaun explains why winning this award means so much to us, beyond the recognition of our sustainable web design credentials.

This is the first award we have won since announcing our B Corp status earlier this year.

I’m incredibly proud of the fact that SOZO has been given this award. To be recognised on this international stage is a huge honour. But what makes it especially meaningful for us is that it celebrates something we care deeply about; sustainability in digital design.

Designing for a greener web

Our winning project centred on a feature we developed earlier this year called Eco Mode; a simple but powerful idea that helps make websites more energy-efficient.

Every time someone loads a web page, data is transferred, code is executed, and energy is consumed. When you multiply that by billions of page views every day, the internet’s carbon footprint becomes substantial; accounting as it does for an estimated 4% of all global emissions.

By implementing Eco Mode it allows users to switch to a low-carbon version of that website; reducing data transfer, image weight, and processor use, all while maintaining a strong brand experience.

The feature introduces subtle yet impactful changes, including fewer animations, lighter font weights, darker colour palettes, compressed images, and simplified layouts all designed to use less energy.

For me, this isn’t just about optimisation. It’s about awareness. We chose not to make Eco Mode the default setting on our website, instead we wanted users to make a conscious decision to enable it, and therefore use it to demonstrate what can be achieved in the name of carbon reduction.

Eco Mode makes sustainability visible and interactive. It shows that even small design decisions can make a big difference, and that the digital world can play its part in reducing global carbon emissions.

Why sustainability matters

This award also reflects our journey as a  Certified B Corp; a decision that continues to shape how we think, design, and operate as a business.

Becoming a B Corp wasn’t about chasing a label; it was about formalising a belief we’ve held since the beginning that creativity and technology can be a force for good.

It’s a commitment to building a business that balances profit with purpose, and to ensuring that our impact; on our people, our communities, and our planet is as positive as possible.

Sustainability runs through everything we do at SOZO, from our office energy choices to the partners we collaborate with. Eco Mode is one more step in that mission; a new functionality that can help brands make responsible choices not just in what they say, but in how their websites perform every day.

Watch: Why We Became a B Corp | SOZO’s journey towards sustainable web design | SOZO Web Design Agency

25 years of innovation and impact

This award is another milestone for SOZO, capping as it does an eventful year. 

This summer, we also celebrated  SOZO’s 25th anniversary; a opportunity to look back on how much has changed since we began in a barn in the Forest of Dean in 2000.

When SOZO started, websites were static, SEO was in its infancy, and sustainable design wasn’t even a concept. We’ve come a long way from hand-coded HTML and Flash animations to AI-powered marketing and low-carbon web experiences.

Through every shift in technology, our goal has stayed the same: to help brands grow through creativity, innovation, and care.

This award feels like a celebration of all those years of adapting and innovating but also as a reminder that digital progress doesn’t have to come at the planet’s expense.

Looking ahead

Winning a w3 award for ‘Sustainable Web Design’ is about more than just a shiny plaque for the office; it’s motivation to keep innovating responsibly.

As designers, developers, and marketers, we all have the opportunity to make a difference. Great design is not just about how something looks or performs, it’s about the impact it leaves behind.

To our clients, team, and partners, thank you for supporting our vision and for sharing our belief that digital experiences can be both beautiful and sustainable.

Here’s to the next 25 years of designing smarter, building responsibly, and helping shape a greener digital future.

Remember, you don’t have to be beige to be green.

Try out our Eco Mode for yourself? Toggle Eco Mode at the top of this page and get ready to experience our site in a greener, cleaner way.

If you would like to know more about our Sustainable Web Design and Eco Mode, get in touch today.