A useful number explains what was compared, over what period, and for whom. Here is how to read the scenarios in this collection.
Every scenario compares an existing routine with a specific alternative. The editable defaults are illustrative; replace them with your own measurements when available. The result is an annual estimate, not a record of completed action.
Litres, kilowatt-hours, items and kilograms of CO₂ describe different things. Within an action, the unit and period stay the same at every social scale. A physical saving is not automatically a carbon saving.
“You + 10 friends” means 11 participants. The wider-group result applies the same assumptions to each participant. It does not predict adoption, claim a real community total or assume everyone can take part.
Some actions overlap: shorter showers and lower-flow fittings, for example. Their isolated estimates cannot simply be added. Transport, housing, public services and policy shape what is possible; individual action is one part of a shared effort.
This project builds on From Data to Action: Applying Psychological Theories to Climate Visualisation Design, by Eva Mayr, Rita Borgo, Yuri Engelhardt, Mauro Martino and Margit Pohl. Its formative focus group informed the emphasis on clear actions, feasible alternatives, visible explanations and collective encouragement. It did not establish a measured change in behaviour.