‘Carbon Footprints’ is a feature that we’ve partnered with Connect Earth for. They’re a leading environmental data tools company and have their own algorithm that relies on a combination of standard carbon footprint databases and machine learning algorithms, to estimate the emissions of your financial transactions.
What that means for Tide members is that you’ll get personalised estimates for the carbon emissions of every business transaction you make, and how your spending habits are impacting the environment. We look at everyday business purchases, including travel expenses, utility bills, and more.
To activate the feature and get an estimate of your carbon footprint emissions, go to ‘Admin’ > ‘Carbon Footprints’ > ‘Estimate now’.
‘Carbon Footprints’ is currently free, but if you want to opt-out at any point, you’ll have that option at the bottom of the screen.
What does ‘Carbon Footprints’ look at?
ConnectEarth’s advanced carbon emissions model looks at where and how products are made, and the import and export process of the materials. For example, for clothes purchased in Switzerland, ConnectEarth will consider where the materials are likely to have come from. They consider product price changes, such as the latest energy prices and foreign currency exchange rates.
They also look at standard practices in Life Cycle Analysis ( or LCA) which means the environmental impact of a product over the course of its entire life cycle, including the used materials, manufacturing process, or other measurable factors.
How are carbon emission estimates estimated?
Carbon Footprints estimates the environmental impact of your transactions by combining the amount and the merchant category.
How much you spend affects your carbon footprint, and different merchant types have varying carbon intensities, also called ‘emission factors’. For example, the emission factor of a transaction you make with a travel company is higher than the one at a local retailer.
Here’s an example:
If the details of your transactions are:
Amount: £200
Merchant category: Grocery
Emission factor for Grocery: 0.48 kg CO2e/£ (illustrative)
The calculation is as follows:
£200 x 0.48 kg CO2e = 96 kg of CO2 emissions.
So a typical £200 grocery expense results in 96 kg of CO2 emissions.
What if my carbon footprint data doesn’t look right?
‘Carbon Footprints’ reports are based on estimates. But, if you have a concern about your results, tap Support in the app to let us know.
