EcoForecast

Inspiration

Small and medium-sized businesses want to go green, but most don’t know if they can afford to. Carbon audits are expensive. Sustainability consultants are often out of reach. Operational data is scattered across fuel receipts, electricity bills, supplier invoices, and logistics logs. For many SMEs, sustainability feels like a moral choice rather than a financially grounded one. What if sustainability decisions could be evaluated the same way we evaluate investments? That question led us to build EcoForecast, a financial simulation platform that measures whether going green is not only environmentally responsible, but economically sound. Instead of asking businesses to trust the vision, we give them the numbers to decide with confidence.

What it does

EcoForecast helps small and medium-sized businesses evaluate whether sustainable upgrades are financially viable before committing capital. Users input quarterly operational data such as electricity, water, and fuel usage along with associated costs. The system annualizes this data and computes a deterministic financial projection comparing baseline operating costs with modeled sustainable transition costs.

The platform generates projected cost savings, a break-even timeline, long-term return on investment over a 20-year horizon, and a carbon emissions comparison between current and sustainable operations. It also produces a combined Sustainability + Financial Viability Score, allowing businesses to evaluate environmental impact alongside economic performance.

How we built it

We built EcoForecast as a full-stack simulation platform with a React-based frontend and a TypeScript + Express backend connected to MongoDB. The frontend collects structured operational and sustainability inputs in an intuitive format designed for non-technical business owners. On the backend, we implemented a financial engine that:

Annualizes quarterly utility data
Calculates baseline operating costs
Models solar adoption, water efficiency upgrades, and EV fleet transitions
Computes setup costs and annual maintenance expenses
Estimates carbon emissions before and after transition
Projects 20-year cost savings using inflation-adjusted modeling
Calculates break-even year and cumulative savings

AI enhances the system by interpreting incomplete inputs, generating contextual recommendations, and translating financial outputs into clear, actionable explanations.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was becoming familiar with components of the tech stack that we had not worked with before, which meant we were learning and building simultaneously under time pressure. We also had to balance technical depth with usability, ensuring that complex financial and environmental modeling remained accessible through a clean interface.

To stay focused, we approached development like a startup sprint: build the core financial engine first, integrate the frontend next, and layer in AI interpretation last. Clear task delegation and discipline made it possible to deliver a working system within the hackathon timeframe.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a working long-term financial and sustainability modeling engine
Integrating cost analysis with carbon emissions tracking
Implementing setup and maintenance modeling for solar, water, and EV transitions
Designing a scalable MongoDB-backed backend architecture
Creating an intuitive UI that makes sustainability finance accessible

What we learned

Throughout this experience, we learned how to translate sustainability theory into executable financial modeling. We gained hands-on experience building a full-stack fintech application under time constraints, while strengthening our collaboration, prioritization, and system design skills.

What's next for EcoForecast

EcoForecast has the potential to evolve into a full decision-support platform that not only projects financial outcomes, but uses AI to generate tailored recommendations for implementing sustainable transition strategies. Future expansions could include accounting software integration, automated sustainability reporting, and scenario comparison tools that allow businesses to evaluate multiple transition paths side by side. Sustainability is no longer optional. The only question is whether businesses will transition blindly, or with data.