GlobalXChanges/Challenges (GXC) International Virtual Innovation Challenge at HM Hochschule München University of Applied Sciences
The City of Munich set the goal to reach climate neutrality by 2035. Because of this, the Department of Labor and Economics is looking for solutions to help them reach this goal. With this they ask:
How can municipalities, through digital solutions, motivate local companies towards climate protection, in times of crisis?
CO₂ reduction is still a great challenge for cities and the stress of dealing with a crisis does not help the situation. Buildings and offices need to help become part of the solution in reducing CO₂ in order to alleviate the issue of climate change. One way this could be done is an increase in green space in and around the office and buildings in Munich. Unfortunately, implementing substantial changes through business can be difficult economically, and large businesses may not be willing to create change. Big business is the leader in greenhouse gas emission, which means that these businesses must change in order to improve the current state of CO2 in the atmosphere. There is much research corresponding green space with mental health (See (Engemann, 2019)(Roe, 2013)(Wolf, 2015) for example), that show that an increase in green space can reduce stress and even reduce the risks of developing psychological disorders.
There needs to be an easy to implement and economical way for businesses, even in times of crisis, to implement more green spaces in and around their office or building. Therefore, we are looking to urge businesses to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions through the means of a digital solution.
References:
Engemann, Kristine. Residential green space in childhood is associated with lower risk of psychiatric disorders from adolescence into adulthood. 2019. https://www.pnas.org/content/116/11/5188.
Roe, Jenny J. Green Space and Stress: Evidence from Cortisol Measures in Deprived Urban Communities. 2013. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3799530/.
Wolf, Kathleen. Mental Health & Function. 2015. https://depts.washington.edu/hhwb/Thm_Mental.html.
The implementation of green walls in the city of Munich could help contribute to the reduction of CO₂. In order to help achieve this, it is necessary to not only spread the word about green walls, but to also have a way to help people and businesses through the process of creating and building one. Our prototype of a green wall website combines all the information needed to design, build, and maintain a green wall. It also works as a community function, bringing people together who are interested in such a solution for their home or office. It also works to inspire people to learn more about the different kinds of green walls, share experiences, and give an extensive look at the variety of benefits that come with the construction of a green wall.
Our team will promote our website through social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook in order to promote the website to become accessible to the average person. Another way to make this accessible is to collaborate with local home goods stores to create green wall starter packs at low rates which include all the supplies to create one's own green wall. We also are working with the city of Munich, who will add our website to theirs in order to influence businesses to build their own green wall. The website includes pages in which users can interact with producers of the website and with others in order to gain insights about how to create their own green wall. This includes a forum page in which users can post pictures of their green wall, or post questions/comments/concerns about their own building process. This creates a community in which green wall users can come together and promote their own work and influence others to do so as well.
To begin our process of finding a solution to carbon dioxide emissions, we looked to projects that had been conducted in the past. We found many pages including carbon dioxide calculators, and while we wanted to add this to our prototype, we wanted to create something new. After watching documentaries and reading many articles, we came to the conclusion that a website about green walls would be an easy solution to implement in many businesses.
To begin our process, we created an Empathy Map, in order to get in the mind set of our challenge giver. After we came up with the idea of using green walls we created a Storyboard to help us then be in the mind-set of the customer using our digital solution. Now that we had our digital solution we made an FAQ to look into the details of our solution and then we create a Press Release to introduce our digital solution to the world.
Because we were thinking of our solution like a business, a Business-Model-Canvas was created to make sure we had a sustainable business plan. Through each of these processes, we illustrated how our business shall be conducted.
After thorough research, we created a website which illustrates the costs, benefits, and planning and construction of a green wall. The website includes a questionnaire to guide users to the most valuable information, and a forum page for questions that are not answered in the website and to bring a sense of community to those interested in the green walls. In all, the website brings together varying aspects of green walls that one would have to research in multiple blogs and websites. With this website, the user can go from start to finish with their green wall idea.
For a more detailed look and explaination at our prototype after Sprint 2, please visit our Sprint 2 Release wiki page.
- Helps contribute to the reduction of CO₂ (While offering monetary benefit as well)
- Employee driven option
- Motivates participation
- Flexibile solution that can fit any budget, even in times of crisis
One feature that we would have liked to add, but did not have time for was a page describing construction regulations in Munich/Bavaria/Germany. This information would probably need to be more extensively researched than we had time for, plus it would mostly be in German, so only a few members of the group could do this. This information would be especially useful for businesses wanting to create an outdoor green wall themselves without being consulted by a professional group.
Another feature that we did not have time for was a contact page. This is standard for most websites.
The website can very easily be expanded when necessary.
Along with the website, a social media campaign could be integrated with a specific hashtag or challenge. The City of Munich could offer a small grant (maybe 100 Euros) to people to start the construction of their green wall.
This website could be used for people to register themselves or company, apply for the grant, and keep track of their green wall and environmental impact. These features could be implemented in a third sprint.