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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.
STOCKHOLM/TOKYO, September 13, 2022 — The card 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.
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“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."
Mathias Wikström, CEO and Co-Founder of Doconomy
“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.”
Katsumi Mizuno, Representative, Executive President and COO of Credit Saison
“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.”
Hayato Kumemura, CEO of DATAFLUCT