Everyone uses electricity. It’s what gets you up in the morning – and keeps your coffee hot. But what does your power consumption really mean in practice? For the globe and the climate? Fjordkraft wanted to show this to its customers.
In 2018, Fjordkraft became the first Norwegian company to receive a UN climate action award. Since then it has continued with a systematic program to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
«We not only work on this internally, but also include our subcontractors. They have to provide climate accounts and offset the emissions they can’t reduce. In this way, we use our market power to reduce emissions a hundred times more than we do for our own direct operations», explains Torfinn Fæste-Belbo, product manager for e-mobility at Fjordkraft.
See your imprint
But what about customers? Could the power company push them in a greener direction?
«We want to deliver more value to our customers, so they will see us as not just another electricity supplier. We have a lot of expertise in energy and electricity, and we want to use it to help our customers. And if we manage to help them save both emissions and money, we create real value for them.»
With that as a backdrop Fjordkraft recently launched a new Energy Footprint feature in its popular customer app. Every customer who activates this gets a graphical overview of their very own personal energy footprint.
«This is calculated by taking the electricity you actually use, along with official statistics on greenhouse gas emissions per kWh. It’s completely voluntary to activate the function, and we invite everyone to take advantage of the feature,» says Fæste-Belbo.
Numbers you can understand
However, if you are going to serve customers information they find useful, you need to put it into context. This is where Ducky really shines.
«It’s difficult to understand what a CO2 number really means. But with Ducky’s API feature, those numbers are translated into something customers recognise. How many flights or car trips are equal to your emissions footprint? Your footprint number instantly becomes more meaningful.»
Fæste-Belbo has worked a lot with sustainability issues, including time with the environmental foundation ZERO. In his experience, understanding is a critical first step in achieving any kind of change.
«It is not easy to get over that threshold. By translating something woolly into something tangible you make the data come alive. This is why it’s such an important part of the toolbox we provide to our customers.»
From understanding to action
The feedback shows that people both understand and like the clarity from visualised data.
«It has been overwhelmingly positive. Those who use the Energy Footprint feature want even more tips and more functionality, so in the future we will give them more of this.»
Fæste-Belbo’s long-term goal is not only to show the customer their energy footprint, but also their total footprint. In this way he wants to make it even easier for the customer to progress from understanding to action.
«Whatever we do should ultimately lead to people actually doing something. So it won’t just be noise, but will help people think about how to take action to reduce their emissions footprint. We are very fortunate to have a high traffic channel, our app, where we can communicate this important message, and motivate people to do something about the issues,» he says.
«And if we get it right, we will have made a real difference.»
If you are a Fjordkraft customer, you can see your Energy Footprint on the front page of the Fjordkraft app – and also receive tips on how to reduce it. To easily activate the Footprint feature, click on ‘Add’ when you are logged into the app.
If you want to read more about the Ducky Data API, you can visit our website HERE!
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