NatWest has launched a new carbon footprint tracking feature for its app users to help customers lower the climate impact of their spending.
NatWest teamed with carbon tracking specialist CoGo to launch the feature labelled as a ‘banking first’ by the bank.
According to NatWest, the new feature will enable customers to see the CO2 emissions associated with their daily spending and will provide tips and hints on how users can go greener and the resources for doing so. Users will also be able to track their commitments and behavioural changes on the feature.
Prior to its launch, a pilot test was conducted on the feature to measure its impact. The bank noted that insights from the pilot showed the average user saved around 11kg of CO2 emissions per month by pledging to behavioural changes that used less carbon. These changes included reducing meat consumption, switching utilities providers and composting.
NatWest highlighted that if these behaviours were replicated by the bank’s 8 million customers, the feature would help save over 1 billion kg of CO2 emissions per year – which is equivalent to planting 17 million trees.
Users of the NatWest app will be able to see the feature enabled in their app in the coming months, with the service being free. The bank underlined that the information will appear in their ‘spending’ tab that is designed to help its customers understand where their money goes.
NatWest Retail Banking CEO David Lindberg said, “We know that many people in the UK want to reduce their impact on the climate, and that to be able to change something in a meaningful way, you need to be able to measure it. Our use of CoGo’s expertise in carbon tracking in the NatWest app is a really important first step in making it easy for everyone to live and spend in a greener way – using the power of their money to influence change.
“It’s aligned to our core purpose as a bank and it’s going to give people the information they need to make informed choices about how they spend, as well as realistic and achievable ways of cutting down on carbon.”
CoGo CEO Emma Kisby added, “We live in a critical decade to address the climate crisis, and we all have a role to play. CoGo is delighted to partner with NatWest to deliver our carbon footprint tracking feature to 8 million customers to inform them of their climate impact and reduce their carbon emissions.
“NatWest is providing us with a platform to deliver the scale and pace of change that is needed. Our vision is a world where knowing your carbon footprint is as typical as knowing the calories in your food or steps you’ve walked daily.”
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