To address mindless mass consumption and educate around impact, the creative team launched the Åland Index beta version in partnership with the Bank of Åland, the world’s first methodology for CO2 impact per credit card transaction. It positioned Ålandsbanken as a sustainability frontrunner with the creative idea that transformed the credit card into a vehicle for more informed purchase decisions.

The brief then was to turn this idea into a global standard, with the objective to drive behavioral change, direct capital and incentivize a reframing of commerce – from mindless mass consumption to more informed purchase decisions.

Success is measured in KPIs divided in two verticals:

1. Number of clients and calculations performed, markets size, user reach, media reach and market preference.

2. Doconomy’s B2B2C model's progress is measured in our clients’ success metrics such as awareness, engagement, reduced CO2 impact, increased deposits, revenue, client acquisition cost and NPS.

The creative idea was to reinvent the credit card as a vehicle for conscious consumption by creating the Doconomy Impact API, the world’s first API for environmental impact calculations, efficiently scaling the Åland Index methodology globally.

By enabling all banks to connect with the Doconomy Impact API we aimed to rewire the financial system creating the breeding ground for digital services that will trigger positive behavior change at a global scale. Banks and brands around the world can now engage users daily to track, measure, and reduce their environmental impact in line with CO2 reduction targets. The idea was driven by the need to educate the masses and insights about the lack of accessibility, comparability, educational impact metrics, and automated calculations.

Data gathering: credible and verifiable data sources were chosen:

- real-time capture of transaction data through clients.

- impact data for carbon, water and societal cost from S&P Global Trucost, based on company reported data for 95% of the global market cap, representing the global economy.

- well documented and science-based sources for sustainable lifestyle tips and carbon credit solutions (the UN, the WWF, World Bank, IEA, EEA).

Data interpretation: Doconomy use a transparent methodology, audited by EY in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000. The data and the factors are updated annually to reflect changes in the carbon intensity of the global economy.

Targeting: Global approach, enabling the index to be used in any country. Steps have been taken to adapt culturally when entering new markets (e.g. by partnering with the Shariyah Review Bureau or working with a local partner in Japan).

Context & creative challenge

To address mindless mass consumption and educate around impact, the creative team launched the Åland Index beta version in 2017 in partnership with the Bank of Åland, the world’s first methodology for CO2 impact per credit card transaction. It positioned Ålandsbanken as a sustainability frontrunner, achieving global recognition as a creative idea that transformed the credit card into a vehicle for more informed purchase decisions.

The challenge then was to scale a creative idea into a global solution, providing a standard in environmental impact calculations available to all.

Strategy

Research confirms strong consumer interest for climate-friendly banking services, but also reveals a lack of available tools. Our insights stem from both public data and joint research with the UN, WWF, IKEA, Mastercard, and Stockholm School of Economics.

Our strategy was to partner with leading banks, using a One-to-Many approach for distribution, to build and implement fully automated environmental impact calculations on global scale.

We created powerful, unorthodox strategic partnerships:

1. Mastercard – global distribution with 2.9 billion credit cards.

2. UN Climate Change – science based global climate expertise.

3. Standard & Poor’s Global Trucost – leading data institute for environmental impact and societal cost of CO2.

The partnerships strategy was to attract diametrically different expertise to a mutual goal thus setting the standard in calculating the environmental impact of financial transactions. Scaling this strategy, the Doconomy Impact API allows for connections to services providing product-level environmental impact calculations leading to even greater accuracy.

Creative idea

The creative idea was to reinvent the credit card as a vehicle for conscious consumption by creating the Doconomy Impact API, the world’s first API for environmental impact calculations, efficiently scaling the Åland Index methodology globally.

By enabling all banks to connect with the Doconomy Impact API we aimed to rewire the financial system creating the breeding ground for digital services that will trigger positive behavior change at scale. Banks and brands around the world can now engage users daily to track, measure, and reduce their environmental impact in line with CO2 reduction targets. The idea was driven by the need to educate the masses and insights about the lack of accessibility, comparability, educational impact metrics, and automated calculations.

Execution

2018: Doconomy is founded with the ambition to scale Åland Index globally through a global Impact API, taking a creative idea to a scalable solution.

2019: The API is successfully launched, enabling banks to calculate average CO2 impact per transaction. The carbon emission limit (DO Black) is launched to position the Impact API.

2020: A portfolio of SDKs for banks is launched, to shorten go-to-market and accelerate engagement. The platform for product level carbon footprint calculations (2030 Calculator) is launched.

2021: Mastercard implements the service on their Global Platform, (Carbon Calculator powered by Doconomy). H2O impact calculation is launched in partnership with S&P. A lifestyle impact assessment tool (Lifestyle Calculator) is launched at COP26 with the UN.

2022: Doconomy’s Impact API now reaches over 500 million users through its partners.

After 2 years of development, Doconomy went live with global clients in 2020, including Bank of the West, its first US client. Launching DO Black – the carbon emissions limit – positioned the Impact API globally. SDKs for banks were launched, shortening go-to-market and accelerating engagement. Product level carbon footprint calculations (2030 Calculator) were also launched.

A series of 2021 breakthroughs:

• Mastercard implemented the service on their Global Platform.

• Klarna joined Doconomy, instantly adding 90M users to the reach of the Doconomy Impact API.

• The world’s first H2O impact calculation was launched in partnership with S&P.

• A lifestyle impact assessment tool (Lifestyle Calculator) was launched at COP26 with the UN.

Doconomy has never run conventional advertising campaigns. Communication strategy built on earning the role of impact thought leadership by helping others, capitalizing on constant innovation, generating organic reach through events/keynotes, joint partner marketing and activity updates.

By 2022, the Doconomy Impact API has provided carbon impact calculations to 32 banks representing over 500 million users, with 167 million active users in 33 countries on 5 continents. The API currently processes 1,5 billion transactions worldwide.

Earned media attention reached a combined value of over 60M€.

Through global partners such as Mastercard, Klarna, WWF and UNFCCC, Doconomy is transforming global commerce. Millions of people now carry in their pockets the technology empowering them to track, measure and reduce their daily impact while shopping.

The API is driving significant gains for banks (see confidential section).

Doconomy attracted over 25M€ in investments from global companies (Mastercard, Citi Ventures, Ingka Group), is valued at 100M€, and forecasts 1 billion user reach by Q1 2023.

In June 2022 Sweden will become the first country in the world to enable carbon calculations for all credit card transactions, based on the Doconomy Impact API.