Adapting Nos Gestes Climat for campus sustainability

Introducing an adaptation of Nos Gestes Climat

No need to reinvent the wheel

Nos Gestes Climat was developed as an open-source tool to be reused and shared as widely as possible. Any interested stakeholders can access the source code and adapt the tool to their specific ecosystem.

As part of their program, students at Centrale Nantes took on this challenge by modifying the simulator to create a version adapted to their campus. This allowed them to assess the carbon footprint of the institution and its occupants. What a great demonstration of the remarkable impact of open source technology! Clément Auger, a Master’s student and member of the “Carbon Neutrality” project, shares his experience:

Can you introduce yourself?

I’m Clément, a final-year engineering student. I joined Centrale Marseille in 2017 before taking a gap year in early 2019. During that year, I had the opportunity to complete two internships abroad: the first one in an oceanography lab in Hobart, Tasmania (Australia) and the second in a consulting firm specializing in sustainable building certification in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). I then spent a semester studying in Taiwan before joining the "Carbon Neutrality" project at Centrale Nantes in September 2021.

Can you tell us about your project at Centrale Nantes?

The "Carbon Neutrality" project was created in 2019. It is unique in its project-based approach. This year, we were a group of 12 students. Up until March, our entire schedule was dedicated to the project, reinforced by carefully selected courses related to it. We continued the work initiated by last year's students, who conducted a detailed 2018 carbon footprint assessment of Centrale Nantes (scopes 1, 2, and 3).

The general goals for the 2020–2021 group were:

• Updating the 2018 carbon footprint
• Developing carbon footprint calculation tools for different student profiles and tools for visualizing low-carbon pathways
• Raising awareness among stakeholders

As part of this effort, we worked on a Campus version of Nos Gestes Climat, designed to allow students and staff to estimate their carbon footprint based on their activities at the school.

Why did you choose to work on Nos Gestes Climat?

First, we were drawn to the clarity of the information available on the simulator and its documentation.

Looking back, I think Nos Gestes Climat has three advantages:

• First, it is open source, which is a major asset. The starting point was already a solid base. Given our tight deadlines, we saved a lot of time by not having to create a new tool from scratch. We also wanted to embrace the open-source philosophy to ensure our version could be easily adapted by other schools.
• The simplicity, usability and guided experience make the tool very user-friendly. The sequential question format improves clarity, which we found particularly valuable.
• Finally, the impact visualization at the end of the simulation allows users to see how simple, effective actions can reduce their estimated footprint.

Did you face any challenges adapting Nos Gestes Climat?

This year, our project group did not include experienced developers, which was a challenge. However, this was not a major issue when working on the calculation model, as it is coded in "publi.codes", allowing us to modify questions fairly easily.

However, diving into the interface code was more difficult. We started looking into it in October 2020, while the online version was still in beta. I personally took the initiative to explore the code, learning as I went, to develop a fully adapted version for the school.

Regarding the carbon database and calculation methods, we were already familiar with carbon indicators from our programm, making it easier to integrate.

What improvements or new features did you bring to your version?

We introduced an academic and professional approach to the carbon footprint model. Given our specific evaluation scope, we designed an adaptation that makes simulations more precise and concise. One major innovation was the differentiation of various university user profiles to better reflect real-world conditions.

The entire approach is detailed in a scientific article published in April 2021, which presents both the national simulator and the methodology used to adapt it to a university setting.

How was the impact within Centrale Nantes? Were there many simulations?

Our first engagement with users came during the testing phase, through a panel of representative testers. The feedback was enthusiastic and the group discussions led to significant improvements.

We are currently in the finalization phase, so we don’t yet have precise usage figures. The simulator is still relatively unknown within the school community. However, it is already being used as a teaching aid in some courses and events at Centrale Nantes.

Our goal is to expand outreach efforts and promote the simulator’s use. The September 2021 semester presents a major opportunity to increase its reach.

What are the next steps for the project and the simulator? What improvements would you like to see?

The "Carbon Neutrality" project will not be continued in its current format in 2021–2022. However, sustainability initiatives are being added into standard course options. A closing event for the project, bringing together several Nos Gestes Climat contributors, can be viewed here.

For the "Campus" simulator, we have many improvement ideas! The first priority is to develop an English version to engage international students in the school’s carbon neutrality efforts.

We have also implemented a first version of a results-saving feature. The goal is to further develop this functionality to allow Nos Gestes Climat to serve as a data collection tool, especially for transportation and dietary habits, which are often difficult to track.

Another goal is to create comprehensive documentation so that the "Campus" version can be easily adapted by other universities.

To explore the adapted version of Nos Gestes Climat for Centrale Nantes:
https://ngc-ecn.netlify.app/

Source code repository for the model:
https://github.com/SustainabilityCN/nosgestesclimat-model-ECN

Source code repository for the simulator interface:
https://github.com/SustainabilityCN/nosgestesclimat-site-ECN