What Eco Lifestyle adds
Eco Lifestyle is an expansion pack for The Sims 4, released on June 5, 2020. It introduces sustainable living systems that let your Sims shape the environment around them. Every decision about power sources, home design, and community policy influences the state of the world, from smoggy skies and piles of junk to crystal-clear water and lush greenery. The pack includes 126 Create a Sim items and 183 Build Mode items, with upcycled furniture, reclaimed clothing, and eco-friendly building options like solar roof tiles, wind turbines, dew collectors, and vertical gardens.
Evergreen Harbor
The pack's world, Evergreen Harbor, is an industrial harbor town inspired by the Pacific Northwest. It has three neighborhoods, each starting at a different eco footprint level: Grims Quarry begins with a green footprint, Conifer Station starts neutral, and Port Promise begins in an industrial state. The world contains 13 lots and 4 apartment units. Through gameplay choices and community voting, your Sims can transform these neighborhoods from polluted industrial zones into thriving green communities, or push them further into smog.
Neighborhood Action Plans and eco footprint
The eco footprint is a per-neighborhood meter that shifts based on how Sims live, what power they use, and which Neighborhood Action Plans (NAPs) are active. NAPs are community rules voted on through voting boards in each neighborhood. Voting opens Friday at 8 AM and closes Monday at 6 PM, and the highest-voted plan passes. Sims spend influence points to vote directly or to convince other Sims to support a plan. Up to four NAPs can be active at once. There are nineteen plans available in any world, plus six that are specific to Evergreen Harbor, including green initiatives and modern development plans for each neighborhood.
Career and skills
Eco Lifestyle adds the Civil Designer career, a work-from-home career with two branches: Green Technician and Civic Planner. Two new skills support the pack's crafting systems. Fabrication is a 10-level skill used at the fabrication machine and candle making station, letting Sims craft furniture, candles, and other items from recycled materials. Juice Fizzing is a 5-level skill for making fizzy juice drinks. Sims can also scavenge materials through dumpster diving and sell handmade goods to fill orders online.