How one branding agency redesigned its website to reduce carbon emissions
After one Australian branding agency discovered its website produced more carbon than the average webpage, it redesigned it to be more efficient. In the process, the agency learned something about striking the right balance between sustainability and style. MEK is a Melbourne studio that’s worked with clients like the conservation groups WWF Australia and Sea Shepherd . During a trivia night in…
Australian branding agency MEK unveiled a more eco-friendly website in 2023, which also boasted better performance. The agency's team learned about the carbon footprint of websites while playing trivia in 2022, discovering that sending 100 emails emits more carbon than driving a car for a mile. To reduce its website's impact, MEK examined its design elements.
The homepage featured a looped slideshow with seven full-screen images and white backgrounds, which were more energy-intensive than a dark mode. Additionally, the website contained duplicated HTML tags that slowed it down. The agency opted for Google Fonts, like Zalando Sans, as they have fewer energy requirements due to being already installed on devices.
MEK also implemented a dark mode with white text at 87% opacity and optimized images. After the redesign, MEK's website ranked cleaner than 74% of all web pages globally in 2026, compared to being worse than 76.5% of web pages in 2022. MEK founder and executive creative director Mirella Arapian emphasizes that while the goal is to minimize carbon emissions, the focus should be on balancing environmental impact with user experience.
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