The term “carbon footprint” is used left and right, but who actually knows the size of their carbon footprint?

JouleBug founder Grant Williard didn’t. His idea to create a social, mobile sustainability gaming app was born after he used numerous online carbon footprint calculators five years ago. His results weren’t pretty.

Today, his JouleBug app is inspiring fun rivalries between individuals and communities as they initiate sustainable behaviors. Users complete different tasks like “Bin to Win” for recycling, “Tech Whiz” for turning their computers off and “Bottle Rocket” for refilling a reusable water bottle in return for points and badges. Users compete against others in their community to earn the most points.

The app has early revenue coming in from universities and cities, which pay an annual subscription fee to customize JouleBug for their students or residents. And the pace of downloads has picked up since Apple featured the app on Earth Day—Williard expects to hit six digits any day now.

But growth should accelerate when a new version of the app launches this fall. It lets communities and organizations sign up for free and add features from an a la carte menu. He expects cities and universities to latch on to the lower price point, and for JouleBug to become the app of choice for promoting eco-friendly behaviors around the nation.

The full report can be read online at ExitEvent.

(C) ExitEvent

(Note: ExitEvent is a news partner of WRAL TechWire. Both companies are owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company.)