Watershed Case Studies Monzo's Journey to Carbon Transparency in Banking

Edit This Case Study Record

	Monzo's Journey to Carbon Transparency in Banking Watershed

Monzo's Journey to Carbon Transparency in Banking

Watershed

Applicable Industries	Finance & Insurance Renewable Energy
Use Cases	Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems
Challenge	Monzo, a modern, smartphone-based bank, has gained over 5 million customers since receiving their banking license in 2017. Their success is largely due to their commitment to transparency and control over finances. However, both customers and employees expressed a desire for more transparency in another area: climate impact. The financial sector was filled with glossy pamphlets and strong promises, but there was a lack of real data. Questions about what was driving the most emissions, what actions would really make a difference, and how much carbon was hidden in the industry’s blind spots remained unanswered. Monzo realized that to truly address these concerns, they needed a detailed and accurate understanding of the carbon emissions across their full value chain. Read More
About Customer	Monzo's customers are modern banking users who prefer a fully-functional bank in their smartphone. They value transparency and control over their finances, with features like simpler and more avoidable fees, advance warnings about increased bills, and rich context on spending patterns and goal progress. These customers are also environmentally conscious, expressing a desire for more transparency in the bank's climate impact. They are interested in understanding and engaging with the environmental impact of their spending and deposits, and are empowered by Monzo to make powerful climate decisions in how they use the bank's product. Read More
Solution	Monzo partnered with Watershed to gain a deeper understanding of the carbon within their business and how to remove it. This partnership allowed Monzo to have a detailed and accurate sense of emissions across their full value chain for the first time. They discovered that about 95% of the emissions induced by Monzo’s existence were hiding in their value chain outside of their normal carbon accounting, being either upstream with suppliers or downstream with customers. Emissions from activities like processing payments, manufacturing and shipping cards, and engaging professional and legal services were much higher than expected. With this data, Monzo was able to engage in meaningful discussions about climate at all levels of the company, train employees on the carbon impacts of their processes, and engage suppliers with real insights. Furthermore, Monzo committed to sharing these insights with customers in a clear and accessible manner, empowering them to make informed climate decisions. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Applicable Industries

Finance & Insurance

Renewable Energy

Use Cases

Continuous Emission Monitoring Systems

Challenge

Monzo, a modern, smartphone-based bank, has gained over 5 million customers since receiving their banking license in 2017. Their success is largely due to their commitment to transparency and control over finances. However, both customers and employees expressed a desire for more transparency in another area: climate impact. The financial sector was filled with glossy pamphlets and strong promises, but there was a lack of real data. Questions about what was driving the most emissions, what actions would really make a difference, and how much carbon was hidden in the industry’s blind spots remained unanswered. Monzo realized that to truly address these concerns, they needed a detailed and accurate understanding of the carbon emissions across their full value chain.

About Customer

Monzo's customers are modern banking users who prefer a fully-functional bank in their smartphone. They value transparency and control over their finances, with features like simpler and more avoidable fees, advance warnings about increased bills, and rich context on spending patterns and goal progress. These customers are also environmentally conscious, expressing a desire for more transparency in the bank's climate impact. They are interested in understanding and engaging with the environmental impact of their spending and deposits, and are empowered by Monzo to make powerful climate decisions in how they use the bank's product.

Solution

Monzo partnered with Watershed to gain a deeper understanding of the carbon within their business and how to remove it. This partnership allowed Monzo to have a detailed and accurate sense of emissions across their full value chain for the first time. They discovered that about 95% of the emissions induced by Monzo’s existence were hiding in their value chain outside of their normal carbon accounting, being either upstream with suppliers or downstream with customers. Emissions from activities like processing payments, manufacturing and shipping cards, and engaging professional and legal services were much higher than expected. With this data, Monzo was able to engage in meaningful discussions about climate at all levels of the company, train employees on the carbon impacts of their processes, and engage suppliers with real insights. Furthermore, Monzo committed to sharing these insights with customers in a clear and accessible manner, empowering them to make informed climate decisions.

Impact #1	The partnership with Watershed and the subsequent insights gained have led to a significant shift in Monzo's operations. Climate is now a regular topic of discussion in meetings, including at executive and board levels. Employees are now trained on the carbon impacts of their processes, leading to a more environmentally conscious workforce. Suppliers are engaged with real insights, leading to more informed and effective partnerships. Furthermore, Monzo has committed to sharing these insights with customers, leading to a more informed and engaged customer base. Monzo has also joined the UK's Tech Zero Taskforce, further demonstrating their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint.

Impact #1

The partnership with Watershed and the subsequent insights gained have led to a significant shift in Monzo's operations. Climate is now a regular topic of discussion in meetings, including at executive and board levels. Employees are now trained on the carbon impacts of their processes, leading to a more environmentally conscious workforce. Suppliers are engaged with real insights, leading to more informed and effective partnerships. Furthermore, Monzo has committed to sharing these insights with customers, leading to a more informed and engaged customer base. Monzo has also joined the UK's Tech Zero Taskforce, further demonstrating their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint.

Benefit #1	Monzo gained a detailed and accurate sense of emissions across their full value chain for the first time.
Benefit #2	Discovered that about 95% of the emissions induced by Monzo’s existence were hiding in their value chain outside of their normal carbon accounting.
Benefit #3	Monzo was able to identify and quantify higher than expected emissions from activities like processing payments, manufacturing and shipping cards, and engaging professional and legal services.

Benefit #1

Monzo gained a detailed and accurate sense of emissions across their full value chain for the first time.

Benefit #2

Discovered that about 95% of the emissions induced by Monzo’s existence were hiding in their value chain outside of their normal carbon accounting.

Benefit #3

Monzo was able to identify and quantify higher than expected emissions from activities like processing payments, manufacturing and shipping cards, and engaging professional and legal services.

Download PDF Version

Overview

Monzo's Journey to Carbon Transparency in Banking

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit