An influential United Kingdom (UK) based social purpose organization that was blamed for the UK government’s use of “grossly unethical tactics to scare public into Covid compliance” is recommending that banks use the “wealth of data that they hold” to provide “carbon feedback” on transactions and introduce social credit-style rewards and incentives to encourage “sustainable behaviours.”
The measures are being pushed by the Behavioural Insights Team (also known as “The Nudge Unit”) which specializes in using behavioral insights to “nudge” people into changing their behavior.
In a recent blog post, The Nudge Unit revealed that it had partnered with “carbon footprint management” company Cogo to “explore how banks should go about nudging their customers to go green.”
Cogo already has partnerships with several banks, including the UK’s NatWest bank, which uses Cogo’s services to provide a personalized, real-time carbon footprint tracker in its mobile app. Cogo’s carbon footprint tracker displays carbon footprint saving and recommendation messages next to transactions. The messages include “you could save up to 138kg [of carbon] by taking public transport” and “you could save up to 7kg of carbon by changing your diet.”
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