With an estimated two-thirds of the world’s global emissions coming from personal consumption, it’s safe to say that the future of our planet lies on all our individual shoulders.
Head of Data Advisory
Many public and private organizations measure their carbon footprint as part of their sustainability agenda. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for us as private citizens. We might make good choices where we can, and when we remember. We might occasionally swap the air-mile heavy steak for the local veggie option, or opt for a ride on the bike rather than getting in the car when the weather allows it. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, it is hard to know what our carbon footprint actually is.
Not only is it, in fact, quite difficult to measure just how much emissions you as an individual create by making the numerable choices you make every day, but it also seems to be “someone else’s” problem: eight out of ten citizens in a recent survey seems to believe that banks, governments, schools, and similar institutions are responsible for making sure that the global emission levels from private households are lowered.
The good news is that private citizens do want to make a change, and reports suggest that more than close to eight out of ten individuals want to make greener choices if they’re nudged in the right direction. And what’s feedback if not a very direct nudge in the right direction? Bearing that thought in mind, we teamed up with Ducky and Asplan Viak to create a multi-use platform that allows private citizens to see their carbon footprint and follow it over time – and to make better choices.
The platform developed by us, Ducky and Asplan Viak is called Zero Emission Citizen. The platform has been used by several customers, including municipalities in the public sector as well as private companies, such as SpareBank in Norway. SpareBank, or the SpareBank 1-alliance, is a cooperation between 15 independent Norwegian banks, that cooperate on a joint platform. This platform now offers SpareBanks’ customers the choice to become more aware of how their purchases affect the environment.
"We are very proud of our contribution in both the ZEC collaboration and this facet here towards bank customers. Better information promotes better decisions, and we should never stop trying to make it easier for people to make the right choices. Combining insights and data from very different industries proves to provide value in both B2B and B2C contexts, and not only for sustainability. We are talking about opportunities to improve quality, efficiency, and innovative power for all three bottom lines." - Kim Remvik-Larsen, Head of Business Concepts, TietoEVRY
Seeing as financial data can be sensitive, SpareBanks customers are given the choice to toggle on the function that tallies the carbon footprint, thus allowing for the data to be processed. The users do not have to download a separate app (thus avoiding the phenomenon that’s called “app fatigue”), and after just a few clicks, you’re on your way to being able to make better and greener choices. The application uses data from your purchases and gives each purchase a score. This score, in turn, makes up the foundation for the in-app display of your carbon footprint from your shopping.
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The fact that the Zero Emission Citizen project is driven by the private sector and powered by citizens makes it the perfect tool to tackle the climate crisis on a local level. And as we mentioned earlier in the article, the change that we’re all waiting for starts at home – and it starts with you.