Japan’s First Climate Action Credit Card launched by Credit Saison using Doconomy technology

Stockholm-Tokyo, September 13, 2022

Japanese consumers will now be able to track and reduce the carbon emissions created by their spending following the launch of a new credit card and impact app based on Doconomy’s data and impact assessment methodology.

The new SAISON CARD Digital for becoz – hereinafter referred to as “becoz card” – and wallet app will help Japanese users understand the composition of their carbon footprint, cut their emissions, and offset what remains. It was developed with Credit Saison – a credit card company with 36 million customers in Japan – and DATAFLUCT, a startup that provides data-enabled solutions to solve business and social issues. becoz is the first card issued in Japan to offer users carbon tracking and offsetting services.

The system estimates the emissions associated with every purchase made on the card using Doconomy’s ÅIand Index, the world’s most advanced transaction impact calculation tool. The wallet app presents users with their monthly total, broken down into key categories like fashion and food. This allows them to understand where more sustainable choices will make the biggest difference, track progress over time, and select an appropriate offsetting package.

To assess the environmental footprint of a transaction, the Åland Index maps it against 1800 Merchant Category Codes and calculates the associated carbon emissions and water use using Doconomy’s world’s leading impact assessment methodology. This draws on investment grade data gathered continuously from companies representing 95 percent of global market cap by Doconomy’s partner S&P Trucost. The Index’s breadth, depth, timeliness and rigor allows Doconomy’s partners to provide customers with more accurate estimates than those drawn from smaller or older data sets.

To develop the becoz package, Doconomy worked closely with DATAFLUCT to tailor the index for Japanese lifestyles, building on the insights gathered from its deployment in 25 other countries. The Åland Index’s data sources and methodology are assured by E&Y to meet the standards required by financial institutions developing best in class climate strategies, products and reporting.

Doconomy CEO Mathias Wikström said “Japan’s Long-term strategy under the Paris Agreement emphasizes the importance of ‘lifestyle innovation’ to meet the country’s net zero ambitions. A significant majority of the public recognize the importance of climate action but most people don’t yet understand what they need to do to support the national target of a 66% cut in household emissions by 2030."

“The becoz app and wallet illustrate how Doconomy helps financial institutions educate and empower their clients to take climate action while decarbonizing their consumer lending. It shows how leading financial brands can deepen their relationships with customers and build new businesses ready for the green economy. Following the opening of our Tokyo office and launch of our partnership with Mitsui earlier this year, we look forward to working with Credit Saison and DATAFLUCT to help Japanese consumers reduce their carbon footprint.”

Katsumi Mizuno, Representative, Executive President and COO of Credit Saison, of Credit Saison said: “Credit Saison is committed to helping our customers make sustainable choices. becoz empowers them with the ability to understand their footprint, identify where they can cut emissions, and offset what’s left. Working with doconomy and DATAFLUCT allows us to provide users with more accurate assessments of their impact. We will continue to work with our partners to find new ways of helping our customers play their part in Japan’s transition to a low carbon economy.”

Hayato Kumemura, CEO of DATAFLUCT, said “while environmental awareness is growing in Japan, consumers need help to measure, reduce and offset their emissions. We’ve organized Credit Saison’s transaction data to make this happen, working with Doconomy to give becoz users more accurate estimates of their footprint, and creating visualizations to help them understand the data and take action. Digitizing impact data can help consumers change their lifestyles and business develop more effective strategies to cut scope three emissions.”

Doconomy is a world leading provider of applied impact solutions. The company was founded in Sweden in 2018 to future-proof life on planet earth by empowering individuals and corporations to take responsibility for their environmental footprint.

Many of the world’s leading banks, payment providers and brands use Doconomy’s technology to help their customers become more sustainable and meet their ESG targets – including firms like BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered, Klarna and Mastercard.

The company is working with financial institutions worldwide to develop disruptive new tools drawing on the company’s industry leading data and impact assessment methodologies, behavioral science expertise and the creative direction of a multi-Cannes Lion award winning team Doconomy’s technology is currently used by financial institutions with over 550 million customers worldwide. The organisation is a partner to the UN, WWF, Mastercard and Parley For the Oceans and was recently named the seventh most innovative company in the world by Fast Company – alongside giants like Microsoft and Stripe.

About Doconomy

Doconomy, founded in Sweden in 2018, is a world leading provider of applied impact solutions. Doconomy wants to future-proof life on planet earth by empowering individuals and corporations to take responsibility for their environmental footprint. We firmly believe that the climate crisis can only be solved as a collective. Doconomy is also a partner of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Mastercard, S&P Trucost, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Mitsui, and Parley for the Oceans.