Make it Happen

Goal: A Carbon Weight Wiki, enabling local retailers to provide at the Point-of-Sale in-store (overhead), shipping and product specific Carbon Weight based on the Sale Price, Weight and Product respectively.

Problem

• My Carbon Footprint: To complex
• Vendor Product Carbon Footprint: Don't know
• Impact of what I buy, when I buy it: No In-Store Information

Approach

• Keep it Simple: Focus on what can a customer can measure at the store: What I spend (easy), how much it weights (a bit harder) and what I buy (even harder).
• Focus on the Point-of-Sale: When I put it in my basket and when I check out.
• Make it Mobile: Consumer takes a picture or looks up information on their cell phone.
• Use the Checkout: What you spend = in-store carbon weight, How much your basket weights = shipping carbon weight, What you buy = generic product carbon weight.
• Allow for Evolution: Allow for estimates, provide range, engage vendors over time.
• Retailer Success: At a minimum a store can figure out the average in-store overhead carbon weight tied back to the amount of the sale. On the receipt would be great, but a simple sign at the checkout stand is enough, or just publish it on a website, like here.

Requirements (early thoughts)

• Keep it Local: Cover every point of sale on the planet.
• Keep it Mobile: Provide for mobile access.
• Focus on the Point-of-Sale: Sale Amount, Weight, Product
• Keep Products Generic: Use Generic Product Taxonomy
• Keep is Social: Engage Social Networking Features
• Keep it Open: Use open engagement by a community to determine Product Carbon Weights.
• Engage Suppliers, Producers: Allow product producers to reveal their specific products Carbon Weight (aka Product Carbon Footprint). Allow for community product review of their estimates.

Quick Steps

Here are a few very early steps and ideas for implementation.

• Basic Website: CarbonWeight.com skeleton site: Done
• Global Local engine: This means we can create content on any point on the planet. Done
• Mobile Site: CarbonWeight.mobi skeleton site: register, create, deploy: Google Android Emulation: Done

• Product Taxonomy: Initial Selection: Done

Needed

• Funding
• Purchase, parse and implement taxonomy
• Build Basic Store (store, retailer, service provider), Shipping and Product Carbon Weight forms.
• Build Simple Store, Shipping, Product Carbon Weight estimators
• Converter: Store Codes to Generic Product Codes: Outsource
• Store Registry: Store Systems Integration: Big challenge. Search for simple entry into market.
• Design, build, deploy, listen, learn
• Iterate