Former Dumfries pupil and student, Jim Kimberley is the tech lead of ‘Floop’ an app that calculates the carbon footprint of its meals by using data that considers aspects such as how an ingredient is grown on a farm, its packaging, and the transportation to when it is sold.
Jim is a former pupil at Noblehill Primary and Dumfries Hugh School and a graduate of the West of Scotland Dumfries Campus.
Jim told DGWGO “Much of Floop’s inspiration comes after I saw the 2019-20 forest fires in Australia first hand, and the lack of climate action from governments around the world after. The climate crisis is here, and it’s clear that we as individuals will be the ones who can stop it.
“After learning that one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from food production, I was surprised that there was no way to find out how good or bad a meal’s climate impact is. Floop was created to allow anybody with a smartphone who cares for the planet to make positive steps when choosing their food.”
To better assist users to understand their food’s climate impact, Floop shows the greenhouse gas usage (CO₂e) in useful easy-to-understand ways such as how many miles a car would travel or how many times a kettle would need to be boiled to produce the equivalent emissions.
The iOS app also contains delicious climate-friendly recipes and allows users to add their own food thanks to a simple meal addition process.
Floop will launch on Android later this year and there are many planned updates on the roadmap to further enhance the user experience with further features.
