Make smarter eco-friendly decisions in real time. EcoDecide suggests greener alternatives and rewards you with an Eco-Score for sustainable

Inspiration

Every day we make small decisions like booking a cab, ordering food, or choosing fast delivery. These choices seem minor, but together they create a huge environmental impact. Most people want to be sustainable, but they don’t have the right information at the right moment. That inspired us to build EcoDecide, a real-time sustainable decision engine that nudges users toward greener choices without forcing them.

What it does

EcoDecide helps users make eco-friendly decisions in real time. After login, users can select what they are doing (travel, food, shopping, etc.), and the system provides sustainable alternatives along with an Eco-Score impact. When users complete a sustainable action, they can mark it as done, increasing their Eco-Score and maintaining a streak, encouraging long-term behavior change.

How we built it

We built EcoDecide as a web-based platform with an interactive dashboard.

Frontend: HTML/CSS/JavaScript (React-based UI) Backend: Node.js Database: MongoDB for user login and score tracking Sustainability logic: A rule-based recommendation engine that suggests greener alternatives based on user activity type Score System: Each sustainable action increases the Eco-Score and updates the user dashboard

The UI was designed to be simple and fast, so users can make decisions quickly without friction.

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was designing the system so it doesn’t just show sustainability data but actually provides actionable alternatives. Another challenge was creating a scoring system that feels motivating without being complicated. We also worked on balancing a clean user experience with meaningful sustainability insights.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Built a working sustainable decision engine with real-time recommendations Implemented Eco-Score tracking and streak system for motivation Designed a clean and modern dashboard UI suitable for real-world usage Created a system that focuses on behavior change, not just awareness

What we learned

Through this project, we learned how sustainability recommendations must be simple, fast, and personalized to be effective. We also gained experience in integrating frontend + backend systems, handling authentication, database updates, and building an engaging user experience.

What's next for EcoDecide

In the future, we plan to improve EcoDecide by adding:

Live carbon footprint calculation using real datasets and APIs Location-based travel alternatives (metro, bus, shared rides) Partner-based reward system for sustainable actions Browser extension support for online shopping sustainability insights AI-based personalization to improve recommendations over time

EcoDecide has the potential to become a daily sustainability companion that helps users make smarter choices effortlessly.