Project timeline: December 2021 - January 2023
Team Extension: 2 full-stack developers
1 full-stack developer active as a front-end developer and lead
1 full-stack developer active as a tester
Executive Summary
The Climate Warehouse project, developed through a partnership between Chia (a blockchain technology company) and the World Bank, aimed to enhance transparency in the carbon credits sector. Equilobe played a crucial role in this initiative by providing expert software developers who significantly accelerated the development process.
Equilobe’s engineers were instrumental in delivering the Climate Warehouse app ahead of schedule, ensuring its successful launch at Asia’s Climate Summit in Singapore on December 7, 2022. By leveraging full-stack JavaScript and time-tested technologies, and adopting a simplified architecture, Equilobe optimized both efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Their strategic decisions and focused execution not only met but exceeded project expectations, enabling the timely delivery of additional features such as the “Tokenization Engine” and “Climate Explorer” in the following months.
This case study highlights how Equilobe’s team extension model and the company’s commitment to delivering high-quality solutions can drive success in complex, high-stakes projects.
Video: The Climate Warehouse Demo by the World Bank - Helping Countries Leverage Climate Markets and Carbon Pricing
The Challenge
Equilobe was indirectly contracted by Chia, the US-based blockchain technology company known for developing the Chia blockchain. The goal was to extend the development team of the Climate Warehouse platform, built for the World Bank, with two software developers. The full team consisted of six members: one software architect, two back-end developers, two front-end developers, and one tester.
The primary reason for selecting the Equilobe developers was their expertise and ability to accelerate development. Their involvement was crucial to ensuring the success of the three-month proof of concept (POC) phase and meeting the tight deadlines for the application’s official launch on December 7, 2022, during Asia’s Climate Summit in Singapore.
Importance of building the Climate Warehouse
One of the primary challenges in the carbon market is the lack of transparency, which allows for the double-selling of carbon credits. This occurs when the same carbon credit is sold to multiple entities without their knowledge, undermining the integrity of the market.
The Climate Warehouse, developed through a partnership between Chia (the US-based blockchain company) and the World Bank, addresses this issue by using blockchain technology to create a decentralized, block-chain based registry. This registry connects various carbon credit registries, ensuring that information is transparent and publicly accessible. By doing so, the Climate Warehouse helps prevent double counting and builds trust in the carbon market
Delivering Ahead of Schedule:
Strategic Decisions and Fast Execution
Visual: Fast Execution Decisions
Full-Stack JavaScript Instead of Multiple Languages: JavaScript was chosen full-stack so all full-stack developers could easily switch sides and help out on one side or the other to deliver the project on time. If Python or another technology had been chosen for the back-end, it would have made it harder to switch contexts, even for developers accustomed to both, because switching contexts takes more time than not doing so.
Easy-to-Use and Time-Tested Technologies: Instead of picking the latest state-of-the-art technologies that are more shiny and catchy, the project used only time-tested and easy-to-use technologies. For example, on the front-end, we worked with React, Styled Components, Formik, and Redux. Although other technologies like Tailwind CSS might have seemed more appealing, everyone knows how to use Styled Components and knows how to use it better out of the box. All these small choices saved time on their own and, summed up, made it possible for the project to be developed so fast.
Simple Architecture: As the project architect put it, “if it takes weeks to onboard a junior developer, the architecture needs some serious improvements.” The whole architecture, back to front, was chosen to be as simple as possible, facilitating a lightning-fast understanding of how code was to be written. This vision further reduced the development time needed for implementing the Climate Warehouse.
Focus on Delivery Over Preferences: Developers often have strong opinions and preferences about technologies and coding practices, which can lead to lengthy debates. Instead, a highly opinionated architecture and coding style were adopted, minimizing discussions and maximizing productivity. This approach ensured precise and rapid delivery of code and features, without the usual delays caused by debates.
To sum it up, a precise and fast execution of the architect’s vision on technology and architecture by Equilobe’s engineers contributed to the ahead-of-schedule delivery of the whole project. Even when preferences or opinion differences arose, Equilobe developers focused on implementing the architect’s vision for the sake of harmony and teaming up towards a common goal to deliver a quality product faster.
Visual: Making of the Climate Warehouse
The Front-end Development Timeline
Building the UI for the POC
Immediately after design sign-off, the front-end developers, led by an Equilobe lead, began implementing all components and screens needed for the POC, while the back-end team worked on the data layer over the blockchain and other necessary platform elements.
(2 sprints)
Adding Features
With most API endpoints ready, the front-end team moved to implement the features needed for the POC. Due to the innovative nature of the project—building a data layer over a blockchain and performing numerous operations with carbon credits—some adjustments were made on the fly.
(4 sprints)
Final Touches and Test Coverage
To meet all World Bank requirements, test coverage was added on the front-end, and final touches were made to incorporate feedback from the World Bank’s management. The POC was successfully delivered ahead of time, meeting all requirements with flying colors.
(1 sprint)
Refactoring and Adjusting UI to Meet Final App Requirements
With project funding secured, the front-end team began implementing the final version of the new UI agreed upon with the World Bank. Some features from the POC were refactored, while others were scrapped.
(2 sprints)
Building the Features Needed for the Final App
The majority of the project time was spent developing innovative features, such as splitting or joining carbon credit tokens and implementing reliable ways to use the blockchain-based data layer. Some features proved less useful, while others were substantially expanded.
(13 sprints)
Final Testing and Bug-fixing
A final round of testing and UI bug-fixing was conducted to ensure the app was bulletproof for future use. Tens of scenarios were meticulously tested, both manually and automatically, to deliver the app in top shape.
(2 sprints)
Final Touches and Special UI for the Asia Summit
Last-minute touches requested by Chia’s team were implemented, and the app received a final polish to make it stand out at Asia’s Climate Summit on December 7, 2023.
(1 sprint)
Building the Extras: Tokenization Engine and Climate Explorer
Following the buzz at the Summit, Chia’s team extended Equilobe’s developer engagement by another 2 months to implement both the front-end and back-end of the Tokenization Engine and Climate Explorer.
(4 sprints)
New CADT Design and Delivery
After the app’s success in December, the Climate Warehouse was taken over by the Climate Action Data Trust. The front-end team’s final task was a complete UI revamp to perfectly integrate with the Climate Action Data Trust’s branding and color manual.
(1 sprint)
The End Result
What began as an innovative idea to ensure transparency in the carbon market through an online platform was successfully implemented by the World Bank and Chia, with a talented development team that included Equilobe engineers.
The platform was delivered ahead of schedule for Asia’s Climate Summit in Singapore on December 7, generating significant buzz. The early completion allowed the development team to refine the platform’s UI, ensuring it made a strong impression at the Summit.
The project’s success led to the Climate Warehouse being managed by the Climate Action Data Trust (CADT). The development team, having finished early, was able to adjust the final UI to perfectly align with the CADT brand guidelines.
Visual: Snips gallery of the Climate Warehouse
Impact and Benefits
Equilobe’s developers played a pivotal role in ensuring the timely delivery of the proof of concept (POC) to the World Bank, enabling Chia to secure funding for the Climate Warehouse app. Thanks to Equilobe’s expert contributions, the final app was once again delivered ahead of time for Asia’s Climate Summit in Singapore on December 7, attracting significant attention in the news and the climate market.
By collaborating with Equilobe, based in Eastern Europe, substantial cost savings were achieved. This strategic partnership optimized the budget, as the cost of developers from Equilobe was significantly lower compared to those in the US, without compromising on quality.
The project’s early completion allowed for the addition of extra features, including the “Tokenization Engine” and “Climate Explorer,” in December 2022 and January 2023, further enhancing the platform’s capabilities.
