EcoPlan — Data-driven Local Climate Action

• 

  AI-generated depiction of wind turbines and solar panels with realistic details

Inspiration

We looked around our own town and saw climate pledges but no clear roadmap. Many municipalities know they need to cut emissions but don't have the staff or tools to convert targets into concrete actions. Data lives in PDFs or spreadsheets, budgets are limited, and it's hard to communicate trade-offs to the public.

What it does

EcoPlan is a lightweight open-source toolkit that helps small teams design practical climate actions. It:

• aggregates credible open datasets on energy, emissions, mobility, buildings and waste;
• lets users assemble "Action Cards" like LED retrofits, bike lanes or heat pumps, with assumptions on cost and impact;
• runs simple deterministic models to estimate carbon reductions (tCO₂e), cost and timeline;
• visualizes scenarios with clear charts that cite their data sources and date ranges;
• exports a public-facing dashboard and shareable plan for councils or funding applications.

How we built it

We built the MVP entirely with OpenAI tools:

• GPT-5 for brainstorming ideas, drafting documentation and writing the code scaffolding;
• Code Interpreter (ADA) to parse CSVs, normalize data per capita, and run basic models to estimate impact ranges;
• DALL·E to generate simple white-background illustrations for the gallery and documentation;
• Sora (optional) to create a short video overview without depicting real people.

All code and documentation live in a GitHub repo with a clear structure and MIT/CC-BY licensing. The generated charts include their sources and date ranges.

Challenges

Finding credible, comparable data across sectors was tricky; we relied on open governmental datasets and research papers. Balancing a simple interface with enough flexibility to adapt to different cities was also challenging. The hackathon timeframe meant we had to prioritize core functions over polish.

What's next

If we continue the project, we would:

• expand the library of Action Cards and refine the assumptions using localized statistics;
• build a simple web interface so nontechnical users can upload data and adjust scenarios;
• integrate budget and funding sources to help cities apply for climate grants;
• collaborate with NGOs and local governments to pilot the tool and gather feedback.

EcoPlan turns high-level goals into practical, transparent steps to accelerate local climate action.

Built With

• code-interpreter
• dall-e
• gpt-5
• sora