Arming Klarna Customers with Live Product Carbon Data
Klarna’s CO₂e Tracker for 150 Million Consumers
There are no signs that the push for conscious consumerism is at risk of slowing down. According to Klarna, 58% of global shoppers are also looking for ways to track their own carbon footprint while shopping including by using a personal carbon footprint tracker, and that’s why Klarna came to us.
In 2022, Vaayu partnered with Klarna to provide its 150 million shoppers with an enhanced breakdown of their carbon footprint across over 70 million fashion items as part of its carbon emissions tracker. Using Vaayu’s technology, the Klarna CO₂ Tracker automatically calculates emissions for purchases on a product level in real-time by pulling product-level emissions data via Vaayu’s API to create a unique product carbon footprint.
Since the launch, the carbon emissions tracker has expanded to now offer Klarna shoppers emissions data across more than 122 million products, including purchases from the Home & Garden, Jewelry & Accessories and Electronics categories. The personal carbon footprint tracker gives shoppers tangible insights into the environmental impact of their completed purchases, using each product carbon footprint within the CO₂ tracker to help them make more thoughtful and sustainable shopping decisions.
Accurate Product Carbon Footprinting at Scale
A single product carbon footprint requires much data and life cycle assessment (LCA) expertise. Product carbon footprint data can be hard to come by due to the complexity of the supply and value chain. Existing data is also typically unreliable, with the vague spend-based models dominating the market not accurately reflecting actual scenarios — and therefore not accurately reflecting the actual product carbon footprint at hand.
Calculating and Evaluating Data through LCA Modelling on 122+ Million Klarna Products
The footprints were computed using Vaayu’s proprietary technology and an ever-expanding database of over 600,000 data points. Vaayu modeled each product’s climate change impact from Cradle-to-Grave using a product life cycle assessment. Complete product carbon footprint modeling included the emissions released from stages in the supply chain and product life cycle, such as raw material extraction, material manufacturing, product manufacturing and assembly, transportation and distribution, product use and end-of-life.
Using mostly activity-based data for the product life cycle assessment and carbon calculations, the remaining data points were enriched with the best-suited secondary data to give a complete picture of the emissions released. Vaayu’s activity-based product carbon footprint LCA approach is TÜV Rheinland-certified and is also the method preferred by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. The method ensured quality data and emissions calculations that reflect actual scenarios.
How to calculate the carbon footprint of a product — Vaayu’s methodology for Klarna:
Above is a simplified overview of Vaayu’s product life cycle assessment methodology which shows how to calculate the carbon footprint of a product. The level of data was necessary to power the Klarna CO₂ Tracker.
The Largest Cradle-to-Grave LCA Dataset, Powered by AI and Machine Learning
Vaayu’s team of in-house data scientists and LCA specialists worked to create a database that allows us to automate the product carbon footprint of over 122 million products across Klarna’s Fashion, Home & Garden, Jewelry & Accessories and Electronics categories, creating the largest cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment dataset using good practice LCA activity-based methodology.
Product carbon footprinting for over 122 million products across Fashion, Home & Garden, Jewelry & Accessories and Electronics
The largest consistently derived cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment (LCA) product carbon footprint database that continues to be automatically added to and improved upon
240,000 shoppers are receiving product carbon data every month by visiting the tracker
Together, Vaayu and Klarna are providing shoppers with science-based cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment of the product carbon footprint for even more everyday products via the Klarna CO₂ Tracker. Using the most comprehensive product carbon footprint database, the CO₂ tracker enables access to tangible, accurate data, revolutionizing the way shoppers engage with their purchasing decisions and inspiring them to take climate action.