The Challenge

A high willingness of consumers to take responsibility to tackle climate change in combination with 64% of European having taken action in the last six month displays a positive trend. Although every action is important, often the ground-breaking changes (e.g. replacing an outdated heat system) are neglected because of misconception and lack of awareness of emission levers. Moreover, some emissions are not avoidable by consumers and should be offset. Although 68% of all German consumers and 80% of Gen Z would pay to offset the carbon emissions of their purchases, only a fraction are doing it regularly. This is due to conflicting information, the lack of transparency around carbon offsetting, and inaccurate or incomplete carbon footprint calculations which makes it difficult to take personal action.

Meanwhile, current carbon footprint tracking solutions focus just on calculation and offsetting. They offer a one-time only quiz to calculate a consumer’s carbon footprint and estimated cost to offset consumption. These solutions lack the connection to daily consumption habits and miss the opportunity to inspire lifestyle changes. Major purchases, like appliances or an apartment, are left out entirely, even though such decisions impact carbon footprints for multiple years.

Lastly, the way existing platforms offset carbon often lacks transparency and connection to the local environment.

Research & Testing

Our goals were:

Validating desirability of the general OneClimate idea and design concept
Bank integration: validating the willingness to connect bank accounts
Understanding at which stage to set up the bank integration (registration vs later)
Validating the interest in affiliate links/brand logos
Validating the need of Community and rewards (Engagement)
Understanding how to set up the “Community and Rewards” part to make it most attractive and engaging to users
Understanding which of the engagement strategies are of (most) interest:
1) Point/Achievement system,
2) Community based challenges,
3) Individual gamification,
4) Distributed Governance
Prioritizing features by their desirability and need for users

Research Methods

1st Round

Interviews with ˜8 people, 1-2 weeks
a. to pitch and validate the need and wish for our general OneClimate idea
b. to pitch different concepts (potentially with low-fi/mid-fi prototypes) within the community and rewards sphere. One for each idea (e.g. trivia quizzes) to validate its attractiveness/effectiveness.
Short survey (e.g. through UsabilityHub), ˜30-50ppl, 1 week
to pitch the idea and get first-impression feedback + prioritise different features through rankingIf time allows
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2nd Round

After synthesising findings, create mid-fi prototype(s) to test the concept for its usability and UX. Use findings to build MVP later. Can be the same users.
Recruitment through TestingTime for instance, to get high quality users that match our persona (21-50, interested in buying or owning apartment/house, seeing climate change as an imminent threat and problem to tackle, already potentially involved in climate action). And to deliver results in time.

The Concept

OneClimate is a mobile application that enables consumers to track, reduce, and offset their carbon footprint. Users are empowered to (positively) take concrete actions with tips and tricks provided in the app.
We motivate regular usage of the app by integrating bank account data so that the climate impact of every transaction becomes tangible. Viessmann, as well as other partners, help users to reduce their carbon emissions through tips, tricks, and the recommendation of sustainable products. The remaining emissions can be offset by supporting regional projects that have been pre-qualified based on stringent and transparent criteria.

OneClimate

Quick Acsess Links

The Challenge

Research & Testing

The Concept