Apple Eco
Student Project
Carbon Credit Transmission Service
Overview
Apple Eco is a service concept that integrates carbon credit tracking into Apple's ecosystem, encouraging Apple’s users to adopt sustainable behaviors. By leveraging Apple's existing products and services, the system incentivizes eco-friendly actions through rewards and seamless user engagement, strengthening the environmental conversation.
Methodologies
Survey, Interview, Affinitization, User Ability Testing, Co-creation Workshop, Ecosystem Mapping, Service Blueprint, User Journey Mapping, Storyboards
Meet the Team
Kasa Chan, Yunyu Liu, Yifei Chen,Jungah Lim
My Role
Design Research Lead, Service Designer
Tool
Figma, Zoom, Adobe After Effect
Duration
10 Weeks, 2024 Winter
At a Glance
Discover
Efforts behind the scene
Apple’s plan calls for reducing 75% of carbon emissions. In parallel with emission reduction efforts, Apple will increase investment in carbon removal projects by 25% to offset carbon emissions. But they are not aware by its users.
Overlooked and doubt
From 49 respondents, we learned that user awareness remains low despite Apple's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and investing in carbon removal projects. This gap highlights the need for better communication and engagement strategies to reinforce Apple's environmental efforts.
Define
From research to synthesis
The synthesis process combines insights from secondary and primary research to uncover Apple's sustainability efforts and current public perception, analyzing financial incentivization, the connection between sustainability and daily life, sustainable information accessibility, accessibility of Apple's sustainable actions, and carbon credits.
49 Survey Responses | 3 Contextual Interviews | 3 In-depth Interviews
Uncovering insights
Our research revealed key barriers preventing users from engaging in sustainable actions. These insights highlight the need for clearer communication, better incentives, and more accessible sustainability information within Apple’s ecosystem.
How Might We…
make sustainability effortless, rewarding, and widely understood within Apple's ecosystem?
Ideate
From brainstorm to prioritize
By evaluating the ideas, we especially identified the importance of partnering with energy sector companies. Established market rules exist for converting electricity consumption into carbon credits, making integration more transparent, trustworthy, and seamless.
Additionally, these companies' renewable energy programs provide certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which can later be traded or used to offset Apple’s carbon footprint, reinforcing a more credible and scalable sustainability strategy.
Prototype
Start with strategic partnerships with energy companies
The service begins with the power company, specifically the Solar Energy Community Program from Georgia Power. We highlighted the carbon credit exchange between different stakeholders, which gives Apple a new stable source of carbon credit and strengthens the environmental conversation between the brand and users.
Seamless carbon credit flow
The core of the service blueprint is the flow of carbon credits. Users in the Solar Energy Program reduce carbon emissions daily. Georgia Power tracks electricity usage, converts it into carbon credits, and displays this data in users’ payment details. When bills are paid through Apple Pay(as an example), credits are transferred to Apple, converted into carbon points, and shown to users. Users can track their points in the eco app and redeem them for Apple products, ensuring a seamless integration of sustainability into everyday actions.
Utilizing current Apple product ecosystem
Apple Eco leverages existing Apple products and services—such as Apple Pay, Apple Store, and Georgia Power integration—to create a seamless sustainability experience, enabling users to track carbon reductions, earn points, and redeem rewards within the Apple ecosystem.
Touchpoints think through
The team prioritized three key touchpoints: Apple’s official website, Georgia Power’s official website, and the Apple Eco application. These serve as the first touchpoints and crucial channels for educating users, seamlessly integrating carbon tracking, and providing actionable steps for participating in Apple’s sustainability efforts.
Test
Expanding impact
The team conducted the first round of user testing through a workshop with 16 design participants to evaluate our service. We introduced the concept, showcased an advertising video, and guided platform navigation. Afterward, participants completed the System Usability Scale (SUS) assessment and provided a Net Promoter Score (NPS).
A key takeaway was the suggestion to expand incentives beyond Apple products—such as groceries—to better integrate with users’ daily lives.
We had our first round NPS score at 6.23.
Go out of the comfort zone
After refining our service concept based on the feedback, the team pushed the user testing to a wider audience to gather real-world feedback.
Our NPS score improved from 6.23 to 6.6, reflecting a positive shift in user satisfaction and engagement after the service offering expansion.
Deliver
Environmental conversation starts with one click
Apple Eco leads the first step of user engagement in carbon credits trading and a portal to share Apple's newest sustainability progress.
Key Takeaways
I learned to navigate complex research challenges through in-depth literature reviews and understanding complex regulations.
Presenting design concepts to diverse audiences refined my communication and iterative design skills.
I pushed my communication and organizing skills further by designing and being the facilitator in multiple user testing workshops.
Instead of complex service design diagrams, slides of service features breakdown would be more audience-friendly, especially for public user testings.