Empowering Lower-Middle-Class Communities for Climate Action via a Reward-Based Web Platform

Abstract

Generally, there is a complete lack of awareness about climate issues among lower-middle-class and middle-class people due to the lack of relatable incentives and learning tools. A web-based platform prototype has been developed to encourage sustainable behavior through gamified challenges and community participation. Responses from about twenty individuals from lower-middle-class backgrounds were collected before the design phase to understand what motivated them and what concerns they had with eco-friendly practices. The findings showed that most participants were primarily interested in financial benefits and would be more likely to adopt green actions if tangible rewards were offered. Informed by this, the proposed website includes a reward-based mechanism whereby users earn "green points" for completing environmental challenges, which can later be used to purchase eco-friendly products. This prototype was presented to selected participants, who provided feedback on the reward mechanism's capabilities and the interactive features' potential to enhance engagement. These early results show that reward-based digital platforms can play a meaningful role in encouraging sustainable habits in communities with limited financial resources.