Initiatives aiming to convert the various lifestyle practices that contribute to decarbonization into metrics for avoided CO2 emissions
Mercari, Inc. (“Mercari”) announces that it will undertake “Decokatsu” (New and Prosperous Lifestyles toward Decarbonization),1 an initiative advocated by the Ministry of the Environment. As part of these activities, the company will also join the POSITIVE ACTION Initiative (“PAI”). Aiming to encourage behaviors that contribute to decarbonization in daily life, the Ministry of the Environment has partnered with willing companies and organizations on an initiative to formulate metrics that quantify lifestyle practices contributing to avoided CO2 emissions. Through this initiative, the Ministry is making an effort to promote the social implementation of behaviors contributing to decarbonization.
Mercari plans to provide the knowledge it used to calculate the contribution to avoided emissions (positive impact) through its business, as published in the company’s 2024 Impact Report (see below), which was released in September 2024.
１．Background
The PAI project, implemented as a part of Decokatsu, aims to create a new and prosperous lifestyle linked to carbon neutrality. The initiative participants have been working together to verify the following items.2
– Formulation of common metrics (rules and standards) related to CO2 visualization
– Social implementation utilizing common metrics
– Design of rules and standards related to incentives
In addition, in its “10-Year Roadmap of Lifestyles,”3 formulated in February 2024 from the perspectives of ordinary citizens and consumers and aiming to lay a path for linking decarbonization to a prosperous lifestyle, for its foundational topic, the project has set as its goal, “Visualize the CO2 emissions generated from purchasing goods and services, and standardize the granting of incentives in proportion to avoided CO2 emissions.”
２．Summary of the current initiative
Toward achieving the abovementioned goal, and as part of the activities of PAI, this initiative will create criteria for the effects of avoided CO2 emissions borne from behaviors that contribute to decarbonization in daily life. Specifically, the initiative will calculate reference values for the effects of avoided CO2 emissions corresponding to behaviors that contribute to decarbonization in daily life and create a database listing behaviors that contribute to decarbonization and their effects.
The reference values for the CO2-reducing effects refer to carbon footprint guidelines4 and other existing guidelines.5 For each of the various behaviors, reference values are calculated based on the difference in emissions generated if a behavior contributing to decarbonization is performed versus if it is not. The current initiative will calculate values for over 100 types of actions that contribute to decarbonization.
３． Future development
The database is scheduled to be released this fiscal year (ending March 31, 2025). The database will be made public with the idea of encouraging decarbonization actions in daily life, allowing the database to be leveraged widely in service development and other such areas.
Additionally, PAI will undertake further discussions regarding such things as the establishment of preferred rules and the design of ideal incentives (visualization tied to value creation) to advance the social implementation of each company’s services leveraging the database. Moreover, the database will not be limited to fostering opportunities for activities that contribute to decarbonization. The organization will also examine methods of carbon reduction utilizing such things as the contact points with customers that each company has as well as sensing technologies. When this work begins, considerations will be made to sufficiently safeguard user privacy.
1 Decokatsu: A shortened form of “New and Prosperous Lifestyles toward Decarbonization,” it is a new word created by combining portions of three words: the “de” of decarbonization (reduction of carbon dioxide [CO2]); the “eco” in ecologically friendly; and “katsu,” which is part of the Japanese words for both activity (katsudo) and daily living (seikatsu). ( https://ondankataisaku.env.go.jp/decokatsu/en/ ). Mercari, Inc.’s Declaration on Decokatsu can be found here: https://bit.ly/3S2CUJm (available only in Japanese).
2 Ministry of the Environment press release from May 17, 2023: Announcing the Start of “The Positive Action Initiative,” Toward Realizing a New and Prosperous Lifestyle Linked to Decarbonization (available only in Japanese). ( https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_01644.html )
3 10-Year Roadmap of Lifestyles: Based on the Grand Design and Action Plan for
a New Form of Capitalism (June 16, 2023, Cabinet decision), this is a policy and guiding roadmap necessary to realize new value creation and prosperous lifestyles linked to decarbonization. It encourages the behavior modification of citizens and consumers and the transformation of people’s lifestyles (available only in Japanese). ( https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_02781.html )
4 Carbon Footprint Guidelines: Released by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in March of 2023, this document provides guidelines to business operators working to calculate their carbon footprint (available only in Japanese). ( https://www.env.go.jp/content/000124385.pdf )
5 In addition to the abovementioned guidelines,4 other related guidelines regarding avoided emissions (concept of quantifying greenhouse gas reductions on supply chains by replacing existing products and services with new ones) were also referenced.
Positive impact generated from Mercari Group’s business (contribution to avoided emissions)
In our calculations, we found that approximately 610,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions are avoided annually through transactions on Mercari in Japan and the US.6 This is equivalent to approximately 250 covered baseball stadiums. In Japan alone, users avoided approximately 52,000 tons of apparel waste (by weight) by listing items they no longer needed on Mercari. This is equivalent to approximately 10% of the total 485,000 tons of apparel thrown away annually in Japan. Moreover, these calculation methods were designed by our R&D organization Mercari R4D in cooperation with the University of Tokyo RIISE’s collaborative research division “Value Exchange Engineering.”7
https://pj.mercari.com/impact-report/FY2024_6_ImpactReport_EN.pdf
6. Target categories: Clothing; Sneakers; Electronics; Books, Magazines & Comics; CDs, DVDs & Blu-rays; Bags (added to the calculations this year)
7. See the following for more information about the positive impact (contribution to avoided emissions) of Mercari’s business as well as the concept of avoided emissions and how they are calculated: https://about.mercari.com/en/sustainability/positive-impact/
Mercari Group’s sustainability strategy
Mercari strives to be a planet-positive company that contributes to solving environmental and societal issues through its business activities in order to realize a circular economy in which all forms of value circulate seamlessly.
Going forward, Mercari will strive to do its part in creating a circular economy by continuing to take action to promote reuse and provide alternatives to throwing items away.
https://about.mercari.com/en/sustainability/
Reference: Ministry of the Environment press release related to this topic (available only in Japanese).
https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_04077.html