(FiveNation.com)- Australia’s Commonwealth Bank has introduced a new feature on its online banking that informs customers of their carbon footprint based on transactions made on their credit and debit cards.
Commonwealth Bank claims it is trying to encourage customers to make more sustainable purchases by highlighting the damage their purchases do to the environment. The online banking app displays a customer’s carbon footprint for the month and includes examples of the supposed damage their purchases are causing, including the CO2 produced from driving a car.
Customers who are easily cowed by this browbeating can help offset their carbon footprint by paying an additional fee.
Commonwealth Bank partnered with fin-tech start-up CoGo Carbon Management Solutions to offer this customer hectoring. However, the bank claims that the data is private and is not shared with CoGo.
Commonwealth Bank Group executive Angus Sullivan said in a statement that by combining its customer data with CoGo’s “industry-leading capability in measuring carbon outputs,” the bank will be able to provide its customers “greater transparency” so they can “take actionable steps” to reduce their carbon footprint.
Sullivan explained that the eventual goal is to provide “greater personalization” for each customer that would include “more granular information about their carbon footprint” and the added option for customers to “offset individual transactions.”
Sullivan also boasted that Commonwealth Bank is offering even more opportunities for its customers to “take actionable steps” to reduce their carbon footprint and “offset their emissions.” These steps include applying for a 0.99 percent “Green Loan” to purchase clean energy products and using Amber to access “renewable energy at wholesale costs.”
Customers seeking to offset the carbon footprint from their monthly transactions can do so using CoGo’s technology, Sullivan explained.
Ben Gleisner, the founder and CEO of CoGo, said the company was proud to work with Commonwealth Bank to encourage Australians to operate more sustainably.
