CBA carbon footprint tracker to go live

Last October, Commonwealth Bank rolled out the pilot for this program, which was created in tandem with CoGo – a fintech that tracks transaction behaviours of users to provide a “real-time carbon output” figure, to 250,000 users.

At the time, the major bank said this was a first for Australian banking. 

According to CBA, almost a third of those who participated in the pilot took “further steps to learn more about their carbon footprint”.

CBA has confirmed that the program, which is set to launch in early August, will provide all of the bank’s retail customers with the CommBank app a monthly carbon footprint, which will be compared with the national average. 

The big four bank’s customers will also be able to see a breakdown of their carbon emissions data, divided into categories such as utilities, transport and shopping, while also being provided options to help manage the size of their footprint. 

Further, CBA has confirmed that it is working in tandem with CoGo to develop a series of educational articles on carbon footprints,  including how to reduce its size and how those steps to minimise carbon usage can reduce cost-of-living expenses. 

CBA’s general manager strategy investments and transformation, Ben Morgan, commented that the combination of customer data and CoGo’s capabilities means the bank “can now provide personalised and granular information to customers about how their spending translates to a carbon footprint”.

CoGo founder Ben Gleisner added that this launch marked an important step for both the environment and Commonwealth Bank. 

“Banks are ideally positioned to take on the role of champion in supporting their customers to lower their carbon footprint,” Mr Gleisner said. 

“In a highly competitive market in which it’s hard to differentiate, banks cannot ignore this opportunity to stand out and establish themselves as a lifestyle partner to the conscious consumer.”

Mr Gleisner added that he believed there has never been a more important time in history to reduce our carbon footprint and that climate friendly actions – including reducing flights, taking public transport or reducing the intake of animal products – “can all have an impact on that”. 

“We’re proud to be the go-to solution for change for the world’s largest banks, and we’re excited about expanding this change throughout Australia, in partnership with CBA,” Mr Gleisner concluded. 

[Related: Climate change to dictate property purchases: Aussie]