A group of four students from Toronto, Aparajita, Cadence, Devangi and Katrina, came up with an innovative idea to tackle the issue of clean energy availability, as outlined in the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7.
They developed an app called EcoSuggest, which aims to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, promote cleaner sources of energy, decrease dependence on fossil fuels, and provide benefits and incentives to users. The app is user-friendly and makes it easy for people to contribute to the fight against climate change.
The students presented their idea through a pitch video for the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) goIT Monthly Challenge for July. This global competition is organized in partnership with Petronas, a global energy group committed to delivering clean energy solutions. The challenge focuses on one of the 17 SDGs each month and invites K-12 students to create digital innovation concepts that address these goals.
EcoSuggest addresses the challenges of lack of access to modern energy systems and wasteful use of energy sources by helping users play a role in climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction. The app allows users to set electricity usage limits, receive turn-off reminders, and earn rewards for responsible energy use. As the North American winner for the month, EcoSuggest and its creators will compete for mentoring opportunities, recognition, and prizes in TCS’ North American and Global Innovator of the Year competitions.
"We need to save energy so that we have energy left to use. There are so many kilowatts of energy being wasted each year that could be used in other areas of the world that do not have power and save the average homeowner a lot of money each year."