Mott MacDonald
Designing a tangible carbon comparison experience
The Challenge
Moata Carbon Portal is a digital tool, by Mott MacDonald, that helps infrastructure teams measure and reduce the embodied carbon of their projects. While carbon specialists could interpret the data with ease, many decision-makers struggled to understand what the numbers meant in real-world terms. This made it harder to compare options, communicate impact, and make confident low-carbon choices.
Earlier attempts to simplify carbon data relied on familiar but flawed comparisons, such as “number of trees,” which often confused users or undermined trust. The challenge was to make carbon impact easier to grasp for non-specialists, without oversimplifying the data or losing technical credibility. Getting this right mattered: clearer understanding meant better decisions across sectors like water, energy, transport and waste.
We designed an interface feature that makes carbon data feel understandable and engaging, even for those without deep technical expertise.
Outcomes
At the heart of the experience is a comparison panel that translates carbon figures into more relatable, everyday terms, such as flight equivalents or cost-based proxies, and lets users interact with this data in real time.
The feature makes carbon data more accessible for non-specialists, while giving experts a clearer way to communicate impact. Since launch, this feature helped shift conversations from abstract carbon figures to more tangible, relatable terms.
Our work on the Moata Carbon Portal goes beyond interface design.
By translating technical insight into clear, usable tools, we’re supporting low-carbon decision-making across sectors like water, energy, transport and waste. With scalable design and human-centred UX, we continue to help Mott MacDonald turn sustainability strategy into real-world progress.
Project Summary
We worked closely with the Moata Carbon Portal team through research, testing and rapid iteration, involving both carbon experts and non-technical users from the outset. By exploring and validating multiple comparison models, we were able to focus on a solution that balanced clarity, flexibility and credibility.
This project marked the start of an ongoing partnership with the Moata Carbon Portal team. We continue to collaborate closely, refining the platform and supporting new ways to communicate carbon impact as the product evolves. The portal’s continued recognition including multiple industry awards in 2025 for carbon reduction and digital excellence — reflects both the strength of the collaboration and the real-world value the work is delivering.