Helping people understand the real cost of energy policy

Energy policy is complex.

For most people, discussions around insulation standards, heating technologies, carbon emissions, and government policy can feel distant and difficult to understand. Yet these decisions have a direct impact on household finances.

Greenpeace wanted to demonstrate how different energy policies could affect people's bills over time, helping supporters understand the benefits of investing in energy efficiency and clean heating technologies.

The challenge was taking a sophisticated economic model developed by Cambridge Econometrics and transforming it into something accessible, engaging, and easy to understand for the general public.

Most importantly, the tool needed to turn information into action.

The project began with a collaborative design workshop bringing together Greenpeace campaigners, economists from Cambridge Econometrics, and our delivery team.

Rather than jumping straight into design or development, we focused on understanding the underlying model and identifying the minimum information required to generate meaningful results.

A key consideration was reducing friction.

The calculator needed enough information to provide credible estimates, but every additional question increased the risk of users abandoning the journey. We worked collaboratively to identify the essential inputs and create a streamlined experience that balanced accuracy with usability.

By the end of the workshop, we had established the core user journey, key screens, reporting outputs, and calls to action.

The success of the tool relied on helping users quickly understand the impact of policy decisions on their own lives.

Rather than overwhelming people with statistics and technical explanations, we focused on personalised outcomes. Users could see how different policy approaches might affect their future energy bills, creating a direct connection between national policy decisions and household finances.

The reporting experience was designed to make complex information feel tangible, relevant, and easy to interpret.

Alongside the results, we created clear opportunities for users to take action, allowing them to contact their MP and support policy change directly from within the experience.

This ensured the calculator functioned not only as an educational tool, but also as an effective campaigning tool.

Like many campaigning projects, timing was critical.

The project needed to move quickly from concept to launch without compromising on quality or reliability. Working closely with Greenpeace throughout the process allowed us to rapidly refine wireframes, validate assumptions, and move into development with confidence.

This collaborative approach helped maintain momentum while ensuring the final product remained grounded in user needs and campaign objectives.

The calculator was built using Laravel Livewire, providing a highly responsive user experience without requiring the complexity of a large frontend framework.

This allowed us to implement custom calculations and dynamic form behaviour quickly while maintaining excellent performance.

The technology choice was driven by the project's needs: rapid delivery, real-time calculations, and a seamless user experience.

The tool successfully transformed a complex economic model into an accessible experience that thousands of people could understand and engage with.

More than 10,000 people used the calculator on launch day alone. Despite the number of questions required to generate personalised results, 95% of users who started the process completed it.

Most significantly, 30% of users went on to contact their MP after using the tool, demonstrating the platform's effectiveness not only as an educational resource but also as a catalyst for civic action.

The project showed how thoughtful design can help bridge the gap between policy, evidence, and public understanding.