Project Overview Statement (POS) (Refer to: Appendix A ‘Project Overview Statement’) Project Definition Statement (PDS) Purpose
● This PDS provides a brief overview of CRC TUM to promote a shared understanding of it before a more detailed plan, schedule, and budget are prepared. Problem/Opportunity ● We observed that there is problem with CO2 emissions. This is based on available information stating the constant rate of carbon increasing in the atmosphere, currently about 409 ppm (CO2 Daily, 2018). Additionally, there are complex social and environmental issues that arise from the continued creation of CO2. Currently, there are many tools (e.g. applications, data centers, research laboratories, etc.) to measure CO2; however, these are not being utilized on a large scale by individuals. Project Goal ● The goal of the project is to implement a carbon calculator called (Carbon Compass or Eco2mpass). The idea being, that if we can create a carbon measuring tool for consumers, we may be able to incite some effective change and reduce user’s carbon footprint. Ideally the project (calculator + PR-campaign) will lower the carbon footprint of all the users combined by 500t/year. Project Objectives
Objective 1: Creation, launch and implementation of carbon calculator. ● In the project, we are looking to create a fully functional carbon calculator from scratch. This means creating the initial syntax, stress testing the calculator, building multiple stages of a calculator, launching the calculator and implementing the calculator for ourtarget market. This is going to be a formidable challenge, as we want to build a functional calculator that is both desirable to use and not overly scientific. A calculator that can measure both static and non-static carbon-emissions from users. Additionally, the calculator has to adequately measure the users carbon footprint, otherwise it will lose interest due to ineffective data. This entire process has to be completed in a timely manner. Objective 2: Implement public relations campaign for users to inform them about their carbon footprint. ● We will create a public relations campaign (PR-Test) to implement in the early phases of the project. It will focus on getting our message out to potential users and also inform them of when the calculator will be available for use. ● This will be followed up by a full public relations campaign at the end of our project. We will expand our target audience from our Sustainable Resource Management (SRM) 6 students and teachers to TUM MA students in studies related to Natural Science, Economics, Business, Environment and Technology. Objective 3: Reduce the carbon emissions of calculator users. ● This objective is focused on decreasing the carbon footprint of our user base. This will be done through a computer application (i.e carbon calculator). With this calculator, users will be able to track both their static and non-static carbon emissions, thereby allowing them to observe how much carbon they are using on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Objective 4: Track carbon footprint transformations of users. ● Focus on tracking users during their use of the calculator. By tracking the change of their carbon footprint, we can support users in a personalized manner. The aforementioned will result in a large amount of data that will be stored on a seperate server. With this server, we can collect and analyze the carbon data. By analyzing and tracking carbon consumption with the calculator, our users can make choices about how to reduce their respective footprints. Objective 5: Analyze user data to determine why carbon footprint was reduced. ● This objective will be focused on analyzing and interpreting the data received from the calculator users. By creating an active feedback system, our user base can help us to improve the calculator. On the other hand, it allows us to determine or deduce what causational links can be found between the working of our calculator and the (possible) reduction of people’s carbon footprint. In other words, we want to find out what components of our calculator and PR-campaign have shown to be effective, and what parts could be improved.