The CO2 Calculator: Interview with Virginie Trachsel and David Reichenau, Innovation and Venturing

PostFinance wants to systematically reduce its own carbon footprint and contribute to curbing global warming. That’s why our Innovation and Venturing team launched the CO2 Calculator. In this interview, Virginie Trachsel and David Reichenau tell us how exactly the calculator works and what we can do to reduce our CO2 emissions.

What is the CO2 Calculator?

Virginie: The CO2 Calculator estimates the CO2 emissions of users on the basis of their transaction data with Twint, their credit card or PostFinance Card.

Where did the motivation to develop a calculator of this kind come from?

David: It was Virginie Trachsel’s idea. She was working on another project, and looking at the data there, she saw that it would be possible to build some kind of CO2 calculator. So with that idea in mind, she approached VNRT – PostFinance Innovation and Venturing. Here at VNTR, we’re always looking for new products and markets for PostFinance, and sustainability is an area in which we keep an eye out for innovative ideas. We believed in the potential of the project, and so we worked together to implement it.

What do our customers say about the CO2 Calculator? Have you had any feedback yet?

David: Yes, lots of people think it’s great that PostFinance is getting involved in this area and they support the project. One thing we often hear is that people would like the estimate of CO2 emissions to be visible for each individual payment, not just the total for each month.?We’re continuing to develop the calculator and we take input from users very seriously. Some customers would like to see more transparency with regard to how exactly the calculations are made. For us, though, it’s clear that the calculator is a pilot project, designed to show what users can do with it. PostFinance takes this issue very seriously and we are currently in the process of further developing the calculator. The aim is to give consumers a tool that enables them to change their behaviour, or where that’s not possible, to offset or neutralize their footprint. It was also important for us to show what exactly a tonne of CO2 actually is and to explain how it’s applied in various areas, such as mobility, food or housing. Knowledge is always a help in solving problems.

What?about the issue of data security and the CO2 Calculator? Isn’t this another form of surveillance, if PostFinance knows what I’ve been buying?

David: We do see where you’ve been shopping, but not exactly what you’ve bought.?So we can’t look inside your shopping basket. To make the estimate of CO2 emissions more accurate, you can also specify your shopping preferences, such as “My diet is vegetarian or vegan”, “My shopping is mostly local/seasonal”, “I have a car”, and so on. This has a direct impact on the CO2 values. PostFinance doesn’t analyze this data, it is simply shown to the customer.

What purchases cause the most CO2 emissions?

Virginie: The highest CO2 emissions are from flights, followed by the household and private customer transport.

Will the CO2 Calculator involve costs for customers in the future?

David: That is not currently planned.

What is the recommended maximum for CO2 emissions per person per month? How is it calculated?

Virginie: It’s derived from the climate goals set out by the United Nations and Switzerland. It amounts to emissions of around 250 kg of CO2 per person per month in Switzerland.

Will the CO2 Calculator effectively allow people to make CO2 savings? Or is it just a drop in the ocean?

Virginie: It’s important for our customers to develop an awareness of what influences their personal consumption. Ideally, this will result in a change in behaviour. Where that’s not possible, the carbon footprint can instead be offset or neutralized.

Do you think that customers will reduce their CO2 emissions by using the calculator?

David: That remains to be seen. The pilot project is currently in progress. If you play around with the shopping preferences, you’ll see immediately how much of a difference a change in behaviour can make. And of course also from the comparison between months.

How has your behaviour changed since you’ve been using the CO2 calculator? Are you more conscious of your shopping?

David: I try to fly less. And I also do more of my shopping locally/seasonally. I was already a vegetarian beforehand.

Virginie: I’ve been a vegetarian for 20 years now. But the CO2 Calculator did flag up the amount of consumption involved in small purchases. A nice notebook here, some hand cream there, maybe something attractive for my flat: it all quickly adds up to a few hundred kilograms of CO2. Thanks to the CO2 Calculator, which shows me the consumption associated with this kind of impulse buying, I think twice beforehand about whether I really need things, whether I could for example use waste paper as notepaper…

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