Creative Execution

The site combines Web GL and Google Street View to empower people all around the world to share the catastrophic effects of climate change on social media in the most personal way possible. Activists swiftly submerged the White House. Producers for respected TV shows sunk their own studios. Thousands submerged their workplaces. And the world’s most iconic landmarks, too. By merging one API with one web technology, we empowered people around the world to share the catastrophic effects of climate change with their own words and images and inspired them to take action by calculating and offsetting their carbon footprint.

In the first week alone, the site reached 213 countries and achieved 201 million media impressions. In one month, the site had 823,781 unique visitors who spent an average of 1.6 minutes on the website, generating 891,680 locations. The project was covered by CNN, Fox News, BBC, Huffington Post, Mashable and countless local news stations and websites around the world. This invaluable awareness brought the critical issue of climate change to the masses. More importantly, thousands became part of the solution – helping to offset over 250 tonnes of carbon in the first month after launch.

Carbon Story needed to raise awareness about climate change so more people would support green causes and offset their carbon footprint. While experts predict sea levels could rise by up to 6ft in the next 100 years, most people don't relate to this issue; they find it far from their everyday reality. We needed to change people’s perceptions. So to open their eyes about climate change and this not-widely-known organisation, we brought the threat of rising sea levels right to their doorstep. World Under Water gives people a personalised view into how climate change could affect them. The ability to type ANY address (available on Google Street View) meant our diverse audience could choose personalised destinations to submerge and create their own personalised messages. Users could then share their generated underwater locations on social media and take action by calculating and offsetting their carbon footprint.