ISAAC | Creatief met Techniek

RePay International - ClimaCount

RePay International offers a programme called ClimaCount, worldwide, with which credit card holders can participate in a carbon offset scheme for all their purchases. The harmful CO2 emissions produced by the purchased products during their service lives are calculated using a TNO-approved method and then compensated through certified carbon reduction projects. Banks, credit card companies, retailers and NGOs link their own credit cards to the programme under licence. Internet communication and the online access to the computational model and database content are important cornerstones of the ClimaCount programme.

Our task: Create the IT components for the international climate compensation programme

RePay International contracted ISAAC to create the www.climacount.com platform. Among other things, this provides the cardholder with insight into the CO2 emissions associated with the credit card transactions. With a specially developed 'CO2 calculator', the consumer can see exactly how the ClimaCount programme compensates the emissions. The client can also specify his or her own preferences for CO2 compensation measures, such as forestry, CO2 capture or investment in sustainable energy.

Approach

ClimaCount determines the required compensation measures based on the anonymous transaction data provided by credit card organisations. ISAAC constructed the extensive database in which the data is processed and created the user-friendly interface accessed via the website by the logged in cardholder.

Advice

Along with APS Building Brands, ISAAC was involved in the establishment of the ClimaCount programme from the beginning. From the concept phase to discussions with potential partners (credit card organisations), ISAAC served an advisory role in the technical roll-out of the ClimaCount platform. In addition, ISAAC performs project management tasks for the connection of partners to the ClimaCount platform. Partners are also supported by ISAAC as they perform the technical integration of the ClimaCount platform in their own environment.

Design and implementation

ISAAC developed a fully scalable design for the ClimaCount platform. The various IT components meet the requirements of the financial sector for connection to their systems. The design consists of the following components:

• Connection to credit card organisations to process anonymous transaction data
• ClimaCount Calculator for the calculation of the CO2 emission per transaction
• ClimaCount Collector for the storage of the data
• Web services to provide access to the data in the Collector
• ClimaCount.com website

Implementation

The graphic design of the ClimaCount website and applications such as the LifeStyler were created by APS Building Brands. ISAAC performed the technical implementation of these designs.

During implementation of the IT components, consideration was given to the various implementation scenarios confronting the partners. Partners have the option of placing components of the ClimaCount platform in-house. It is also possible for a partner to develop its own components and have these communicate with the ClimaCount platform via web services.

Management

ISAAC has full responsibility for the management of the ClimaCount platform. In addition, ISAAC develops custom solutions to meet the specific wishes of the partners.

Final result

The ClimaCount platform is a scalable platform to which an ever increasing number of international partners are being connected. RePay has a partner agreement. The design and available connection methods make it simple for partners to connect to the ClimaCount platform. In the future, ISAAC will continue to expand the functionality of the ClimaCount platform further to include new features and applications.