Cogo, the carbon footprint management expert that partners with banks, has calculated that 90 million tonnes of CO2e could be saved each year if every bank attending Money 2020 implemented carbon footprint features for all customers.
This is equivalent to having an extra 4,328km2 of woodland, covering an area the size of the Faroe Islands, Luxembourg and Andorra combined… or nearly three times the size of London.
Cogo is already working with seven of the world’s largest banks, with plans to double this in the next twelve months.
Emma Kisby, UK & Europe CEO of Cogo, said: “Having spent years building trust with consumers, banks are uniquely placed to take on a new role in supporting their customers to lower their carbon footprint.
“Customers are looking for help to understand and reduce their impact on the climate. In a highly crowded market, banks cannot ignore this opportunity to stand out and establish themselves as a vital lifestyle partner to the conscious consumer.
“Many banks are already on their journey to reducing their own operational emissions, and carbon footprint management tools help them bring consumers along on the journey to deliver planet-saving action at scale.”
Financial services partnership model helps scale success
Cogo will debut two new partnerships with British financial services brands in the coming months - each marking a world first in carbon footprint management. These wins for Cogo’s financial services partnership model complement relationships which are already in place with UK retail banks TSB and NatWest.
In addition, Cogo is set to announce partnerships with two further financial services providers in APAC.
When combined, these new partnerships put Cogo on track to have over three million customers using its carbon footprint management features by the end of 2022.
Action creates impact
The total combined customer base of the banks attending Money 2020 is in excess of 685 million people. If all of these customers made some of the most popular sustainable lifestyle changes recommended by Cogo, then a huge reduction in carbon emissions could be achieved:
• 250 million tonnes CO2e saved by eating a vegetarian diet at home
• 378 million tonnes CO2e per year saved by turning down home heating by 2 degrees
• 1.8 billion tonnes CO2e by switching their main household vehicle to an electric car (EV).
Even if only the 5,000 delegates for the show start using a carbon footprint calculator today, then 660 tonnes of CO2e could be saved each year.