susCoin

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  Impact of Choices

• 

  Adoption and Emissions

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  Opal Integration

• 

  Wallet and Redemption

Inspiration

We were inspired by a simple question: what if every sustainable choice in a city was rewarded instantly, just like earning points in a game?
With climate change accelerating and cities under pressure to manage resources, we saw a gap: people want to make greener choices, but incentives are weak and impact is invisible. susCoin was born to turn low-carbon actions into everyday economic rewards.

What it does

susCoin is a reward layer for cities that converts verified sustainable actions (taking public transport, biking instead of driving, reducing energy use, installing solar, recycling) into a transparent, digital coin.

• Users earn susCoins when they log or verify actions.
  
• susCoins can be redeemed at local businesses for food, fuel credits, or discounts.
  
• Governments and companies can plug into the system to run targeted incentives and track real-time CO₂ reductions.
  
• A community dashboard shows the collective carbon savings and economic circulation.
  

How we built it

• Frontend: EJS + TailwindCSS, with live dashboards, wallet view, redeem marketplace, and community impact counters.
  
• Backend: Node.js with Express & Socket.io for real-time updates.
  
• Database: SQLite for wallet ledger, activity logs, redemptions, and partner catalogs.
  
• Scoring: Emission factor datasets (IPCC, EPA, Australian Government) + a custom CSV of transport scores to calculate coins based on CO₂ avoided.
  
• APIs: Integrated with Google Maps Distance Matrix for transport verification, PVOutput for solar panel generation, and open energy data for electricity baselines.
  
• Docs: Transparent formulas, anti-cheat rules, and partner APIs included in /docs/.
  

Formula used for calculation

$$ \text{susCoins} = \Bigg\lfloor \Big(\text{Score}_{mode} \times \frac{Distance}{5}\Big) \times \alpha \Bigg\rfloor $$

where alpha is a scaling factor and Score mode is the score value taken from our emissions table.

Challenges we ran into

• Merging divergent data sources: aligning credible carbon emission factors with real-world APIs.
  
• Verification vs user experience: making sure logging is not just self-reporting but also feasible to demo in 24 hours.
  
• Git conflicts: integrating multiple teammates’ contributions under time pressure.
  
• Design balance: keeping the interface simple while showcasing enough features to prove scalability.
  

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a working end-to-end system: log an action → calculate verified CO₂ saved → earn susCoins → redeem at a partner.
  
• Designed a transparent scoring model backed by open datasets.
  
• Created a real-time dashboard showing both personal and community impact.
  
• Developed docs + partner integration flows, showing how a café, fuel station, or government utility could plug in immediately.
  

What we learned

• How to turn abstract sustainability concepts into quantifiable, gamified incentives.
  
• The importance of API integration for credibility — a self-reported app isn’t enough.
  
• How to structure a project for both hackathon demo speed and real-world scalability.
  
• That storytelling (problem → solution → impact) is just as critical as the code when pitching to judges or stakeholders.
  

What's next for susCoin

• Government integration: plug into transport cards, utility bills, and waste collection systems.
  
• Private sector adoption: CSR programs and loyalty rewards where companies sponsor susCoin multipliers.
  
• Stronger verification: geo-tracking, receipts, and IoT sensor APIs to prevent abuse.
  
• Mobile app: easier action logging and QR code redemption.
  
• Scale internationally: adapt emission factors for different countries and integrate with local sustainability initiatives.
  

Built With

• australian-government-emission-factors
• chart.js
• chart.js-(impact-visualization-graphs)-other:-markdown-+-latex-(documentation-and-formulas)
• css
• css-frameworks-&-libraries:-express.js-(backend)
• csv-data-processing
• ejs
• ejs-(templating)-database:-sqlite-(wallet-ledger
• epa-emission-factors
• express.js
• fetch-api
• git
• google-maps-distance-matrix-api
• helmet.js
• html
• icao-carbon-emissions-calculator
• ipcc-/-epa-/-australian-government-emission-factors-cloud-&-tools:-github-(repo-and-version-control)
• ipcc-emission-factors
• javascript
• json
• leaflet.js
• nanoid
• node.js
• node.js-runtime-(server-environment)
• nodemon
• npm
• ocr-(tesseract.js-for-bill-parsing)
• open-energy-datasets-(electricity-usage-baselines)
• openrouteservice-api
• pvoutput-api-(solar-panel-generation-data)
• redemptions)-apis-&-data-sources:-google-maps-distance-matrix-api-(transport-verification)
• rest-apis
• smart-meter-data-apis
• socket.io
• socket.io-(real-time-updates)
• sqlite
• strava-api
• tailwindcss-(ui-styling)