JouleBug Launches Android Version for Earth Day, Adds Competitive Game Features

JouleBug, the free mobile app that makes sustainable living simple, fun and social, is welcoming Android™ users to its Earth Day party. The company announced today the release of JouleBug for Android, as well as an update to Joulebug for iOS including a new feature for competitive sustainability games between friends.

“We’re excited to be the premier city launch partner for JouleBug for Android,” said Katherine Mortimer, sustainability programs manager for the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is starting a new partnership with JouleBug today. “The Android launch now means that more people in our city, and millions more around the country, can learn about ways to save money and cut down on their personal environmental footprint, all right from their mobile device.”

JouleBug players earn points and badges for completing easy, everyday sustainable activities, like recycling, reducing wasted water, conserving energy, and biking to work. The app’s “Badge Genius” intelligently encourages users to make sustainable choices that are relevant to their current location, time of day, and season. Points in the app translate into real-world value: users can save up to $200 a year.

The launch of JouleBug for Android extends this playful, social approach to sustainability to cover the majority of smartphones and tablets now on the market. JouleBug is available for free in the Google Play™ app market or directly from JouleBug. It works on any device running Android 3.2 or higher. In addition to the Android release, JouleBug also issued an update to its iPhone® and iPad® version that allows users to challenge their contacts on Facebook and Twitter to a sustainability contest. Users can invite friends to “play a game of JouleBug,” competing to see who can score the most points for their sustainable actions over the course of a week. JouleBug 2.1 can be downloaded for free for iPhones and iPads from the Apple App Store.

“We know from our work with cities, colleges, and companies that competition really drives behavior,” said Grant Williard, founder & president of JouleBug. “We’ve seen a ten-fold increase in app use during JouleBug contests between neighbors, classmates, and co-workers. The new game feature allows anyone to harness that power of competition and launch their own contest with their friends.”

JouleBug encourages individual users to take easy but meaningful actions to conserve resources and reduce waste, and rewards them for doing so. It also helps cities, universities, and companies reach out to their constituents and engage them in sustainable activities that support those communities’ environmental goals and programs. The Android launch means these communities can now reach even more of their constituents with their key environmental messages using the app.

“Our JouleBug Communities Platform takes the power of the app at the individual level and multiplies it across an entire community,” said Williard. “We work with cities, universities, and businesses to get their message onto mobile and engage their constituents in real-world action that helps them meet their goals. Every time we update the app, we make it that much more powerful as an outreach and engagement tool for communities.”