Hong Kong’s Planto ties up with New Zealand fintech firm Cogo to create awareness about sustainability, launch carbon footprint tracking software for city’s banks

The software will allow consumers to understand what their footprint is and what steps they can take to reduce it, says Cogo’s Asia-Pacific CEO

Users will have the option to opt-in to see their carbon emissions based on their transactions

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Hong Kong’s Central Waterfront with the city’s Central banking and finance district in the background. Planto and Cogo say they are in talks with commercial banks in Hong Kong about embedding their solution into lenders’ mobile banking apps. Photo: May Tse

Published: 3:00pm, 19 May 2022Updated: 3:24pm, 19 May 2022

Planto, a Hong Kong-based online banking solutions provider, has partnered with Cogo, a New Zealand-headquartered carbon footprint tracking fintech firm, to develop a software for the city’s banks that encourages consumers and small businesses to cut their greenhouse gas emissions.

The carbon footprint calculator that they have jointly developed will allow consumers and small businesses to see the carbon emissions associated with their daily spending or operations, and give them suggestions on how to lower their impact, executives told the Post.

“People care more and want to know more about sustainability, but they don’t know what actions they can take to reduce their footprint. Our software is an enabler, at no cost to [consumers], to understand what their footprint is and what are some ways that they can take to [reduce] it,” said Julie Lindenberg, Cogo’s CEO in the Asia-Pacific region.

As countries around the world set net-zero targets to limit global warming and avoid the catastrophic impact of climate change, banks and their consumers are also looking to find ways to lower their carbon emissions.

Ankit Suri of Planto says banks ‘want to have conversations that align with’ customers’ lifestyles and values. Photo: Handout

The firms said that they were in talks with commercial banks in Hong Kong about embedding the solution into their mobile banking apps. The data will be collected by banks. The firms will charge a fee from banks and financial institutions based on the number of customers that use the solution each year.

Users will be able to opt-in to see their carbon emissions based on their transactions, which will be categorised into different sections such as retail and transport, Lindenberg said. Consumers will also get suggestions on actions that they could take to reduce their environmental impact. For example, replacing just one meal a week containing meat with a vegan option could save 370kg of carbon emissions a year, or roughly six trees, according to Cogo’s calculations.

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