Sustainsync

Track carbon emissions with a gamified twist—earn a "Carbon Hero Score" (lower is better) and view your carbon history!

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SustainSync

Inspiration

We were inspired to create this project through SDG 13 and the realization that most people don’t actively track their carbon emissions. While individual emissions may seem small, collectively, they can have a significant impact. With this web app, we want to encourage people to track their emissions just like they count their calories.

What It Does

SustainSync estimates the amount of carbon you emit based on your location and daily activities. Unlike most carbon calculators, we store your carbon history using login authentication and a local SQL database (SQLite), allowing you to monitor your progress over time.

To make tracking emissions engaging, we introduced a Carbon Hero Score (the lower, the better!)—a gamified approach to reducing one’s carbon footprint.

How We Built It

We used the Climatiq API to estimate user emissions based on their activities and location. One key insight was that carbon emissions vary greatly depending on where you live, especially in sectors like electricity. For example, using electricity in the U.S. is much more carbon-intensive than in Europe, as the U.S. relies heavily on coal, whereas European nations have a more balanced energy mix.

Tech Stack

  • Frontend: HTML, TailwindCSS, JavaScript
  • Backend: Python, Flask, SQL (SQLite)
  • APIs Used:
    • Climatiq API (for carbon calculations)
    • Memegen API (for error pages like incorrect username/password)

Challenges We Ran Into

Integrating the API and accurately calculating emissions was one of the toughest challenges, especially since neither of us had prior experience with API integration.

Accomplishments We’re Proud Of

We’re proud of how well we executed both the functionality and design aspects of the project. Despite its simplicity, we believe our project stands out due to the extra features we implemented.

What We Learned

Through this project, we learned:

  • How to integrate APIs
  • More about SDG 13 and climate impact
  • How to use TailwindCSS
  • Authentication processes and database management

What’s Next for SustainSync?

We plan to scale up the project by adding more features to truly gamify the experience and encourage more people to join the climate action movement.

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