October 2021 - Cascade: Parmee Prize entrants describe their progress since entering the competition

In March, the Parmee Prize was held virtually and four teams competed in the final. One of the runners-up of that competition have continued to develop their app and describe their progress here. Cascade is aligned with the Corporate Partnership Programme’s 25th anniversary theme of climate rescue and we are pleased to support them in their quest to help individuals and businesses make sustainable choices.

'Governments, businesses, and individuals' are the three key groups identified in the UKFires Group's 2019 report, Absolute Zero, who must act in order for progress to be made on climate change - and who must act now, not wait for the others to act first. Cascade is an app that aims to help break out of this stalemate, leveraging the ripple effect to combine individual action and systemic change.

The project originated in 2019 when Engineering student Tse Uweja was brushing her teeth. Worried by the amount of waste generated by plastic toothbrushes, she considered switching to bamboo. But, if everyone in the country started using bamboo, would the potential deforestation and biodiversity impacts outweigh the benefits of less waste and reduced carbon emissions? Overwhelmed by the number of everyday decisions that would require this calculus, and unsure whether her choices as an individual even mattered, she came up with the idea for an app which could quantify the impacts of each option and help users make decisions. Since that original spark, the project has grown to comprise a team of over 60 members, the majority of whom are Cambridge undergraduates.

Cascade's theory of change tackles the 'individuals' section of the UKFires Group's trio first. 40% of emissions come from households, so reducing ordinary people's impacts can go a long way, and a growing number of people feel compelled to act to reduce their climate impact. Like Tse, they face three key obstacles: not knowing which actions truly help; feeling that their individual actions are insignificant; and struggling to maintain sustainable habits. Cascade will synthesise accurate climate data and behavioural science in order to provide users of the app with engaging, effective actions they can take to reduce their own climate impact, and help them sustain these into long-term habits.

The actions of one individual can also influence the people around them, rippling into the kind of collective movement that so often catalyses large-scale, socio-political change. This ripple effect can then be further extended to the other two points of the triangle, as the aggregate data obtained about people's actions can provide a basis for a quantitative and persuasive campaign to push for systemic change on the part of governments and industries.

When Cascade entered the Pembroke Parmee Prize in March, this philosophy was well received by the judges and guests, who also provided constructive feedback to help further refine our business plan. It was particularly encouraging to attend October's William Pitt Seminar, a discussion on ‘What should come out of COP26?’, that echoed similar thoughts.

Currently, Cascade is in the process of developing five flagship features, designed to target the areas in which individuals can have the most impact: purchasing, food, energy, and local and international travel.

• Swap Shop, a shopping tool which compares different brands of everyday items based on carbon emissions, ethics, and biodiversity metrics
• FoodIE, a meal-planning tool to help users reduce food waste, find locally produced, in-season food, and move away from emission-intensive meat options
• Energise, which helps users to switch renewable energy providers and reduce their energy consumption
• CascadeGo, which helps users choose more sustainable alternatives to driving for their everyday travel
• HoliPlanner, which helps users to plan more eco-friendly holidays

In addition to this, the team are also in the early stages of developing Cascade Enterprise, an adapted offering designed to help businesses transition towards more sustainable practices. With small and medium-sized enterprises located at the intersection of individuals and industry, and with the ethical and legal urgency for sustainable business operation only growing, this is a key area of impact.

Current proposals for Cascade Enterprise take two forms. One, a top-down approach, wherein the aggregate data collected about employees' actions may be used to advise businesses on sustainable company policies, such as implementing meat-free Mondays. Alternatively, a bottom-up approach may see an adapted version of Cascade's consumer app focused specifically on work-related decisions, such as commutes and business trips. This would retain the community ripple effect aspect, with individual and shared impact able to be tracked by both employees and company management.

Cascade Enterprise is still in early stages of development, and feedback from interested parties such as small and medium businesses looking to operate in a more sustainable way, will be key in directing the focus of the eventual offerings. If you believe that Cascade may be able to address your sustainability use case or you want to find out more about Cascade and ways to support us, please do get in touch via email: cascade@iticam.org !

To find out more about Cascade and keep up to date on the project's progress, visit our website, sign up to our mailing list, or find us on social media!