UK bank TSB has teamed up with fintech startup Cogo to help customers monitor and reduce their carbon footprints.
Cogo uses open banking and data linked to electronic bank statements to analyse customers’ financial transactions and day-to-day spending to give a clear picture of the impact this has on the environment.
To calculate a person or household’s carbon footprint, Cogo first analyses their banking data and matches every transaction to a specific industry, such as fashion, grocery or insurance. It can then estimate the carbon footprint of that transaction.
For example, £1 spent at a UK fashion retailer creates on average 1kg CO2e3. The app also factors in the type of products sold by each company, for example which energy suppliers use 100% renewable electricity.
Based on that individual’s actions, Cogo will then suggest ways to lower their carbon footprint.
The firm claims that up to 574 million kg of CO2 emissions per year - which is equivalent to driving over two billion miles or over or over 50,000 times around the world in a car - could be saved should TSB’s three million digital banking customers use the service.
John Lyons, director, payments, TSB, says: "By partnering with Cogo, we are providing millions of our online customers with all the tools necessary to help make more informed and sustainable choices about their purchases."