World's First Experiment Conducted to Study Personal CO2 Emission Trading

Copyright National Institute of Informatics

The world's first experiment studying personal carbon trading was carried out by the Supply Chain Consortium between February 9 and 22, 2011, in order to develop environmental technologies. At its Kitasuna store (Koto Ward, Tokyo), Ito-Yokado Co., a major Japanese supermarket chain, sold cartons of canned drinks with attached seals indicating carbon credits. Purchasers could not only offset their own CO2 emissions, but also cooperate in offsetting those of Koto Ward, Sunamachi Elementary School and two non-profit organizations.

The member organizations in the Consortium had their own roles in the experiment. The National Institute of Informatics, a general academic research institution, proposed the methods used as the basis of the experiment in order to unify the experimental process. Toppan Printing Co., a major Japanese printing company, developed an emission trading system, and managed the office for the experiment. Nihon Unisys, Ltd., an ICT service provider, set up carbon credit accounts and built models for implementing account administration. Seven & i Holdings Co., a major Japanese retail chain operator, provide the Ito-Yokado store. Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance provided its carbon credits and conducted a series of procedures related to carbon offsetting.

There were three types of carbon credit seal, corresponding to 300, 500 and 700 grams of CO2. Reading the QR (Quick Response) code with a cellular phone or other device provided information about the CO2 emission credits. The experiment was budgeted by both the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Promotion Program for Reducing Environmental Load through ICT Innovation (PREDICT), and was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Posted: 2011/05/15 06:00:15 AM