Whale tales | Case studies and client projects
Environmental website design for a not-for-profit conservation organisation
- E grade → B grade
- 73% reduction in average CO₂ emissions
- Estimated 8 kg CO₂ saved per year
Project snapshot
Client
Industry
Includes
Location
The Brief
What South Coast NRM Needed from Their Website Rebuild
South Coast NRM is a not-for-profit organisation working to protect and restore the environment across Western Australia’s south coast region. This project came through a white label collaboration with Jess at PiPSQUEAK Services, who brought me in to deliver a full rebuild rather than a redesign – the existing look and feel needed to stay intact, just rebuilt properly underneath.
The old site had started to show its age. Content wasn’t always displaying as intended, and the SCNRM team faced regular headaches trying to make even simple updates. With around 30 pages of content plus dozens of blog posts, this was no small undertaking – but the brief was clear: a clean, modern foundation that worked as hard as the SCNRM team did, without losing the design elements their community already recognised and trusted.
What I did
Delivering an Accessible, Environmental Website Rebuild
Working alongside Jess at PiPSQUEAK Services, I delivered a full rebuild in Elementor, covering around 20 core pages plus fresh templates for future content. This wasn’t about reinventing the look. It was about keeping what SCNRM’s community already recognised, while rebuilding the backend from the ground up for better performance, better accessibility, and a significantly lighter environmental footprint.
Every page was rebuilt with three things in mind: a smoother experience for site visitors, an easier backend for the SCNRM team to manage, and a meaningfully lower carbon footprint behind every click.
This project included:
- Full website rebuild (~20 core pages, plus new templates for future content)
- Content restructuring for better navigation
- UX and accessibility improvements
- Fully responsive design across all devices
- Carbon-conscious development and image optimisation
- A smoother, simpler backend for the SCNRM team to manage independently
The Results
Before and After: Website Carbon Footprint and Performance
Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
Carbon grade | E | B |
Average CO₂ per page visit | 0.930g | 0.248g |
Page weight | 2.725 MB | 877 KB |
The key wins
- Carbon footprint improved from E grade to B grade
- 73% reduction in average CO₂ emissions
- Estimated 8 kg CO₂ no longer released into the atmosphere each year
- A refreshed, fully responsive site that’s easier for everyone to use
- A smoother, faster, easier-to-manage backend for the SCNRM team
- Around 20 core pages rebuilt without losing the design SCNRM’s community knew and trusted
The Sustainability Impact
The Environmental Impact of a Sustainable Website Rebuild for a Not-for-Profit
You don’t need a full redesign to make a serious environmental impact. This project proves it.
Moving from an E grade to a B grade is a significant shift, especially for a site with as much content as SCNRM’s. The 73% reduction in average CO₂ emissions means every single page visit across the site, whether it’s a quick check of a program page or someone reading through years of blog content, now carries a fraction of the environmental cost it once did.
Estimated savings: 8 kg of CO₂ per year that’s no longer entering the atmosphere. For a not-for-profit whose entire mission is protecting the environment, having a website that reflects those same values isn’t just nice to have. It’s part of walking the talk.
What they said
Kind words from clients
Sez is decisive, informative, and attentive, providing a detailed brief at the start of the process so every aspect of the build is covered from the get-go. The finished product has blown me out of the water each time, and she goes above and beyond by providing additional support and training videos for my clients to access from their dashboards. It’s an absolute no-brainer to have Sez on board for a stress-free, glorious website build.