Master Thesis: Visualisation of food’s climate footprint

A sharp reduction in CO2e emissions is necessary to ensure the future of the planet. This thesis examines the application of interactive digital design for the dissemination of food’s climate footprint in the context of physical grocery shopping. In the thesis, it is investigated how the dissemination can initiate reflection and whether the reflection can be converted into consumers’ behavioural change.

To do this, we designed Clim8. Clim8 consists of two parts: interactive price tags, which convey the food’s price and climate footprint, as well as an information screen that visualizes the food’s climate footprint and presents comparable foods. We break with the existing studies by focusing on utilizing new comprehensive data on food’s climate footprint. We articulate four design challenges as a primary contribution to future design work within an emerging and limited research area. The four key design challenges identified and presented offer opportunities for researchers and designers who want to contribute to future research.