The WiLD Network by Guy Mills, UK
Washington – The multinational technology company is helping businesses reduce the environmental impact of their operations by releasing the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability.
The new programme helps companies streamline their data management, build more sustainable IT infrastructure, reduce the carbon footprint of corporate activity, and create planet-friendly value chains from top to bottom. Available from 1 June, the programme tackles the environmentally burdensome nature of data storage, which is energy-intensive and a key concern for global heating.
According to the press release, ‘Organisations can reduce their environmental impact and increase business value when they replace tools, systems or activities with more efficient options. Moving workloads to the cloud, for example, can increase both carbon and energy efficiencies.’
Consumers and businesses alike are realising that data storage, unnecessary files and even just open tabs in a browser all have a carbon impact, something which we explored in the Decarbonising Digital section in our Sustainability Report.
Portugal – With its graphic identity, Freetree, a browser extension that allows online shoppers to plant trees while making purchases, is aiming to bring the tactile sensation of nature to the digital landscape.
The brand identity, which was designed by agency How&How, took the word ‘fuzz’ as its starting point. This word is used to capture the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from doing a good deed, as well as the leafy foliage that will be planted as a result of using the extension.
Instead of using downbeat imagery to illustrate the climate crisis, the branding agency opted to emphasise joy and optimism. As a result, trees are depicted in bright colours like pink, yellow and orange, and motion is used to give the platform a dynamic and empowering feeling. ‘A lot of climate emergency marketing is bleak,’ explains Cat How, creative director at How&How.
In a further bid to promote positive environmental action, the branding agency asked to be paid for the visual identity with 60,000 trees instead of financial compensation, highlighting how designers can respond to climate change.
Freetree. Branding by How&How, Spain
