Doconomy and Dreams
Monday 20 March saw the publication of the final installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). And the contents paint a bleak picture.
Working out the best way to deliver the climate change message can be a puzzle
Spanning almost 8,000 pages, the AR6 outlines the catastrophic effects of escalating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. These consequences include the obliteration of homes, the demise of livelihoods, and the disintegration of communities. Furthermore, the report highlights the growing and irreversible perils we face if we do not alter our trajectory.
Reminiscent of the film Don’t Look Up, the allegorical tale of an impending extinction-level asteroid collision, the response to this report has been muted, demonstrating once again the difficulty the climate lobby faces in getting its message across to a broader audience.
Working out the best way to deliver the climate change message can be a puzzle. The IPCC reports attempt to tread a fine line between catastrophe and hope.
Inevitably, the weighting tends to be more towards “things are not going well”. But critically, the IPCC does offer hope and identifies readily available and, in some cases, highly cost-effective actions. As the World Resources Institute succinctly puts it, “While the window to address the climate crisis is rapidly closing, the IPCC affirms that we can still secure a safe, livable future.”
There was hopeful news in our little fintech corner as a couple of pieces of the puzzle slotted into place.
Doconomy and Dreams Technology, two innovative Stockholm-based companies, have recently unveiled their plans to join forces, with Doconomy set to acquire Dreams. Under the acquisition, Doconomy will incorporate Dreams Technology’s proprietary platform – which leverages behavioural science to deliver radical new ways to boost banking customers’ digital engagement and financial wellbeing – into its suite of leading environmental impact measurement tools.
Doconomy, renowned for working with banks’ third-party core providers, enables CO2 and H2O calculations for all digital financial transactions for consumers and SMEs. With over six years of experience, the company boasts an impressive track record, having partnered with over 80 banks across 34 regions and impacting approximately 850 million end users.
Founded in 2014, Dreams Technology has a behavioural science-backed engagement banking platform designed to tap into people’s intrinsic motivation and foster sustainable behavioural change. The product challenges people to define goals, and then actively helps users achieve them. Its starting point was financial products and services, and indeed its approach has demonstrably improved financial wellbeing, but the firm has also increasingly moved into responsible consumption.
It is super interesting that both businesses recognised their relative strengths and weaknesses and how they complement each other and decided to act.
Doconomy has scale and visibility but has realised that just providing data and information is insufficient to drive impact in the long term.
Mathias Wikstrom, CEO of Doconomy, tells me: “We see many banks stepping up to be a platform of transition, assisting retail clients and SMEs in their journey to contribute to a net-zero economy. But they are often frustrated by procrastination and inaction. Users must understand what to do and be enabled to do it.”
Dreams has a platform to help users achieve goals. But it doesn’t have the reach of Doconomy. According to its CEO Henrik Rosvall, “Dreams is just a manifestation of what motivates people to take action. It finds what will inspire someone to start changing behaviour and provides them with the right toolkit and coaching to take action. And then it nurtures that motivation by giving feedback and giving rewards.”
I have experienced the Dreams platform and believe it can effectively guide users towards meaningful and achievable outcomes. By utilising data from Doconomy, users can prioritise actions based on their transactions. The Dreams platform then assists in transforming these priorities into tangible goals while offering continuous support to accomplish them in various areas, such as food consumption (reducing meat intake or opting for local produce), energy usage (conserving energy and choosing green tariffs), transportation (using public transit or adopting electric vehicles), and shopping habits (embracing second-hand items and upcycling). Doconomy’s ongoing data tracking means users can easily monitor their progress and remain motivated on their journey towards a sustainable lifestyle.
The enhanced proposition will also give the team at Doconomy visibility on a robust data set that defines the most effective ways to engage with the user on reducing CO2 and H2O, which could help policymakers determine the best strategies to engage with citizens.
Addressing carbon reduction and water efficiency requires more than individual action; it also needs policy-driven efforts and government-led initiatives to set an agenda and define the path toward a net-zero economy. Evidence-based policy is crucial for success, and insights gleaned from the actions of 850 million people could prove instrumental in shaping the future of climate action.
About the author
Dave Wallace is a user experience and marketing professional who has spent the last 25 years helping financial services companies design, launch and evolve digital customer experiences.
He is a passionate customer advocate and champion and a successful entrepreneur.
Follow him on Twitter at @davejvwallace and connect with him on LinkedIn.
