“On average a person makes about 35.000 choices every day. However we don’t always know how green our choices are. You might know where the bananas come from that you buy in the supermarket, or when you book a train journey you can roughly calculate how much CO2 emissions that creates. However, with many of our purchases we don’t have a clue what the climate impact might be, even though the money we spend and how we spend it plays a large role in solving climate change. This is a missed opportunity as gaining insights is the first step in making more sustainable choices.” According to Fadoua Ajjaji, Product Manager Carbon Bank Retail at the Rabo Carbon Bank. The start-up within Rabobank developed Carbon Insights.
“With Carbon Insights we make consumers part of the solution, just like we do with sustainable farmers who can earn carbon credits through carbon storage in their farmland. Together our eight million private customers can make a difference and combat climate change by changing their spending patterns towards a smaller carbon footprint. For example by buying different, less carbon intensive food they also stimulate supermarkets to offer more sustainable products”, according to Barbara Baarsma, CEO Rabo Carbon Bank.
The app divides our customers’ spending into different categories, such as groceries, transportation, clothing and vacations. “Of course we don’t know the exact products somebody buys in the supermarket, so the CO2 emissions remain an estimation. For the calculation we look at the payment itself, not the actual receipt. Customers can provide additional information, if they eat meat or own a car, which allows us to make the calculations more accurate”, according to Ajjaji. “Helping people make more sustainable choices means good news for the climate. Knowing how your behaviour impacts the climate might help you make other decisions. Perhaps you will reduce the amount of new clothes you buy. That is not only good for the climate but also for your wallet.” On top of gaining an insight into their CO2 emissions people also receive tips on how to make more sustainable decisions. Customers can receive additional information, such as the CO2 emissions of driving by car from Amsterdam to Paris, or how much CO2 you produce by showering for 5 minutes. Rabobank customers can use Carbon Insights for free. They can sign-up or sign-off at any time.
Rabobank developed this innovative feature in collaboration with ecolytiq, a green fintech company where researchers and technical experts work to provide an insight into the CO2 emissions of consumption. ecolytiq provides Rabobank with the Dutch CO2 values per euro and spending category. Transparency is essential here, that is why ecolytiq uses the Open Payment Standard, supported by the Open Sustainability Registry (OSR). This means that scientists, policymakers, companies and consumers can look at the calculation methods and provide feedback for future improvement.
The privacy of our customers is guaranteed as every Rabobank customer only has access to the data related to accounts of which they are the accountholder. In a secure and sealed environment, managed by Rabobank, the payment data is processed in a model which calculates the CO2 emissions. The data never leaves Rabobank and will not be used for any other purpose
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About ecolytiq
The Sustainability-as-a-Service® solution from ecolytiq enables banks, fintech companies and financial service providers to show their customers the individual impact their purchasing behaviour is having on the environment in real time. The ecolytiq software calculates personal environmental impacts, such as CO2 values, on the basis of payment transactions. In November 2020, ecolytiq joined the Visa Fintech Partner Connect programme in Europe, enabling banks to seamlessly implement their sustainability strategies using payment data. www.ecolytiq.com
Media contact ecolytiq: media@ecolytiq.com
About Rabobank
Rabobank is a cooperative bank. There are almost ninety local Rabobanks in the Netherlands, which each operate with a high degree of independence so they can better serve their customers and local communities. Rabobank also has sizeable international banking operations. They focus on international business and rural activities in general and on the Food and Agri sector in particular.
For more information, please visit: www.rabobank.com
Media contact Rabobank: Daniëlle Brouwer | Rabobank | Danielle.Brouwer@rabobank.nl
phone: +31 6 1208 6769
