Automatically Tracking and Executing Green Actions

We believe that self-reporting is a limiting factor in the original vision of StepGreen.org, and this component of our research has begun to explore alternatives. For example, we showed that financial data can be used to extract footprint information [1], and in collaboration with researchers at Intel and University of Washington, we used a mobile device to track and visualize green transportation behavior in the Ubigreen project (published at CHI 2009 [2]). We have also worked on algorithms to predict the indoor location of work and home arrival time of residential building occupants so as to automatically minimize thermostat use [3, 4]. Finally, we moved away from individual behavioral remedies to structural remedies by exploring tools that could help tenants to pick greener apartments [5]

[1] J. Schwartz, J. Mankoff, H. Scott Matthews. Reflections of everyday activity in spending data. In Proceedings of CHI 2009.  (Note). (pdf)

[2] J. Froehlich, T. Dillahunt, P. Klasnja, J. Mankoff, S. Consolvo, B. Harrison, J. A. Landay, UbiGreen: Investigating a Mobile Tool for Tracking and Supporting Green Transportation Habits. In Proceedings of CHI 2009. (Full paper) (pdf)

[3] Indoor-ALPS: an adaptive indoor location prediction system Christian Koehler, Nikola Banovic, Ian Oakley, Jennifer Mankoff, Anind K. Dey
UbiComp ’14 Proceedings of the 2014 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing, 2014

[4] TherML: occupancy prediction for thermostat control Christian Koehler, Brian D. Ziebart, Jennifer Mankoff, Anind K. Dey UbiComp ’13 Proceedings of the 2013 ACM international joint conference on Pervasive and ubiquitous computing, 2013

[5] Jennifer Mankoff, Dimeji Onafuwa, Kirstin Early, Nidhi Vyas, Vikram Kamath Cannanure: Understanding the Needs of Prospective Tenants. COMPASS 2018: 36:1-36:10

StepGreen

The goal of the Stepgreen project is to leverage Internet scale technologies to create opportunities for reduced energy consumption. The original vision of the project was to leverage existing online social networks to encourage individual change. Since then the project has broadened to include a number of other ideas. We have explored the impact of demographics on energy use practices; studied the value of empathetic figures such as a polar bear for motivation and exploredorganizational-level planning. We have also developed mobile technologies that can provide feedback about green actions on the go.

StepGreen.org Website

StepGreen.org Website

Try StepGreen.org out: The Stepgreen.org website provides a mechanism for allowing individuals to report on and track their environmental impact. It includes a visualization that can be displayed on an individual’s social networking web page. Go to Stepgreen.organd see for yourself how we leverage social networks to engage individuals in green behaviors.

Learn about our software productsStepgreen  is a service that we are hoping to share with non-profits that are encouraging behavior change,  such as an open API you can use to build your own clients for encouraging green behavior. Please contact us at stepgreen@cs.cmu.edu if you are interested in collaborating with us. 

Learn about our research and our publications

Keep in touch with us through our Facebook page  and Twitter account.

Sample Publications

JOURNAL PAPERS & MAGAZINE ARTICLES

  1. J. Mankoff. “HCI and Sustainability: A Tale of Two Motivations,” Interactions.
  2. Dillahunt, T. & Mankoff, J. (2011) In the dark, out in the cold. ACM Crossroads 17(4):39-41
  3. Jennifer Mankoff, Robin Kravets, Eli Blevis, Some Computer Science Issues in Creating a Sustainable World, IEEE Computer 41(8):102-105. (pdf)
    1. Reprinted as: Jennifer Mankoff, Robin Kravets and Eli Blevis, Some Computer Science Issues in Creating a Sustainable World. Posted on November 17th, 2008 in Articles, Climate, OpEd, Technology http://www.earthzine.org/2008/11/17/some-computer-science-issues-in-creating-a-sustainable-world/

CONFERENCE PAPERS

  1. Tawanna Dillahunt, Jennifer Mankoff, Eric Paulos. Understanding Conflict Between Landlords and Tenants: Implications for Energy Sensing and Feedback. Ubicomp ’10.  (full paper)(pdf)
  2. Jennifer Mankoff, Susan R. Fussell, Tawanna Dillahunt, Rachel Glaves, Catherine Grevet, Michael Johnson, Deanna Matthews, H. Scott Matthews, Robert McGuire, Robert Thompson. StepGreen.org: Increasing Energy Saving Behaviors via Social Networks. ICWSM’10.  (full paper) (pdfvideo of talk)
  3. C. Grevet, J. Mankoff, S. D. Anderson Design and Evaluation of a Social Visualization aimed at Encouraging Sustainable Behavior. In Proceedings of HICSS 2010.  (full paper) (pdf)
  4. T. Dillahunt, J. Mankoff, E. Paulos, S. Fussell It’s Not All About “Green”: Energy Use in Low-Income Communities. In Proceedings of Ubicomp 2009. (Full paper) (pdf)
  5. J. Froehlich, T. Dillahunt, P. Klasnja, J. Mankoff, S. Consolvo, B. Harrison, J. A. Landay, UbiGreen: Investigating a Mobile Tool for Tracking and Supporting Green Transportation Habits. In Proceedings of CHI 2009. (Full paper) (pdf)
  6. J. Schwartz, J. Mankoff, H. Scott Matthews. Reflections of everyday activity in spending data. In Proceedings of CHI 2009.  (Note). (pdf)
  7. Jennifer Mankoff, Deanna Matthews, Susan R. Fussell and Michael Johnson. Leveraging Social Networks to Motivate Individuals to Reduce their Ecological Footprints. HICSS 2007. (pdf)

OTHER

  1. Rachael Nealer, Christopher Weber, H. Scott Matthews and Chris Hendrickson. Energy and Environmental Impacts of Consumer Purchases: A Case Study on Grocery Purchases. ISSST 2010
  2. Dillahunt, T., Becker, G., Mankoff, J. and Kraut, R. Motivating Environmentally Sustainable Behavior Changes with a Virtual Polar Bear.” Pervasive 2008 workshop on Pervasive Persuasive Technology and Environmental Sustainability. (pdf)
  3. Johnson, M., Fussell, S. Mankoff, J., Matthwes, D., and Setlock, L. “When Users Pledge to Take Green Actions, Are They Solving a Decision Problem?” INFORMS Fall 2008 Conference. (ppt)
  4. Johnson, M., Fussell, S. Mankoff, J. and Matthwes, D. “How Does Problem Representation Influence Decision Performance and Attitudes?” INFORMS Fall 2007 Conference. Abstract
  5.  Johnson, M.P. 2006. “Public Participation and Decision Support Systems: Theory, Requirements, and Applications.” For presentation at Association of Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Conference, Madison, WI, November 3, 2006. (pdf)