Insights:Data, Data, Data

Our long-time client American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) brought a programming challenge to us recently that involved math. Lots and lots of math.

The project involved creating an online calculator to compare the carbon intensity of corn ethanol production based on various data models. The user is able to enter their own data points and compare their carbon intensity results in real time, leading them to identify opportunities to decrease their own overall carbon footprint.

With literally hundreds of data points and a number of complicated formulas, luckily the hard mathematical lifting was already done for us – ACE provided an Excel spreadsheet they created with all of the data integrations mapped out.

Our challenge was to convert those mathematical formulas into a programming language that online browsers would recognize.

A combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more than a few hours of cross-checking results was used to create this online tool.

ACE is a national ethanol advocacy organization that brings together everyone from ethanol producers to farmers to Main Street businesses that supply and benefit from the ethanol industry. This grassroots organization has been working since 1987 to create a community of everyday citizens who share the same goal: making American ethanol the consumer fuel of choice. For over a decade, Insight Marketing Design has been a partner of ACE, helping with any needed marketing and digital solutions, as well as creating the Ethanol Today magazine.