Climate Action Product Sense Case: Pick a Segment, a Lever and an Impact Metric

In a product manager interview at Google, you are asked to design a product that helps fight climate change. The prompt is deliberately open: it does not say what "fighting" climate change means, who the product is for, or whether it is software, hardware or a service. Walk the interviewer through how you would narrow the problem, choose the users and the need you will serve, generate and prioritize solutions, describe the first version you would build, and decide how you would know it is making a real difference. ```hint Narrow before you ideate Climate change is far too broad to design for directly. Decide which climate outcome you want to move, then look for a decision or behavior where one choice matters a lot and where Google's reach puts it in an unusually strong position to influence that choice. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Does "fight" mean cutting greenhouse-gas emissions, helping people adapt to effects such as heat waves and floods, or changing how people understand the issue? - Should the product build on existing Google surfaces such as Search, Maps, Android or Nest, or may it be a new standalone product, digital or physical? - Are we serving individual consumers, businesses, or cities and governments, and should we launch globally or in one market first? - Is success judged on climate impact alone, or does the product also carry adoption or revenue expectations? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A precise, measurable definition of the goal and a clear argument for why Google in particular should pursue it. - A justified choice of one segment and a concrete barrier that keeps that segment from lower-carbon choices. - Several genuinely different solutions compared on climate impact, reach and feasibility, with one prioritized and scoped to a first version. - Success metrics that capture real emissions or behavior change rather than engagement alone, plus guardrails. - Risks particular to climate products, such as inflated impact claims, privacy of household data and conflicts with advertising incentives. ### Follow-up Questions - How would you verify that the emissions reductions your product claims actually happened, rather than relying only on modeled estimates? - After launch, usage is strong but very few people complete the climate action the product recommends. What would you investigate and change? - How would you adapt the product for a market whose energy grid, housing stock or government incentives look very different from your launch market?