Cogo to join Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s upcoming trade delegation to Singapore and Japan 

The trade mission forms part of the Government’s wider plan to reconnect with the world following the disruption wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, strengthening partnerships between government, business and industries to ensure a strong economic recovery.  The PM told New Zealand media outlets that the message from the delegation would be clear: New Zealand is open for business.

She added that the trade delegation will include impressive representatives from New Zealand’s dairy, food and beverage, technology, tourism and renewable energy sectors, with a focus on promoting sustainability and innovation.

Cogo was born out of a conviction that we need to move a lot faster in terms of taking personal responsibility, and action for mitigating climate change. The startup is currently in discussions with several of Asia's biggest banks around carbon footprint integration, amidst increasing demand from customers and businesses for transparency around this kind of data. 

"Asian customers are looking for greater transparency around their spending footprint. Cogo’s technology has the opportunity to impact Asia’s entire carbon footprint by enabling repeatable, purposeful exchanges between the two biggest global contributors to over-consumption: businesses and customers. That's real change; and it’s exponential impact,” believes Julie Lindenberg, APAC CEO, Cogo.

She adds “Banks and businesses in Singapore and Japan have signalled willingness to actively invest in promoting technology that will help them transition to a lower carbon economy.”

The trade mission comes just months after the release of a report that highlights extreme weather and climate change impacts across Asia which “...caused the loss of life of thousands of people, displaced millions of others and cost hundreds of billions of dollars, while wreaking a heavy toll on infrastructure and ecosystems”.

Empowering consumers across Singapore and Japan

Earlier this year, Cogo announced a partnership with digital banking technology innovator Moneythor to make it easier for banks to provide their customers with climate conscious banking solutions, focused on the Asia market. Powered by Cogo, banks using Moneythor’s digital banking platform will soon be able to offer customers the ability to track their carbon emissions and therefore understand their carbon footprint off the back of spending habits directly via their banking apps. Leveraging the Moneythor solution’s recommendation and nudge engine and Cogo’s content, customers will also receive easy guidance on reducing or offsetting their impact. 

In addition, Cogo has been selected amongst a group of just six successful applicants from a pool of 17 countries by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) to receive a Green Finance Subsidy that supports overseas companies in this space to successfully enter their market. It’s called the climate change countermeasures “an investment for the future” of the country. The startup will soon offer Japanese banks and payment platforms the ability to empower customers with carbon tracking solutions that calculate an individual or business carbon footprint; and help them take meaningful action to reduce their impact on the planet.

A go-to solution for change 

Cogo currently works with 5 of the world’s top 50 banks, with this number expected to double over the next year. Banks including NatWest (one of the UK’s top 5) and Commonwealth Bank (Australia’s largest) both use Cogo within their banking app to enable customers to see the CO2 emissions associated with their daily spending. NatWest's customers are provided with hints and tips on how to go greener and resources to help them along their journey; while CommBank users are offered the option to offset their emissions using credible projects.

“There’s never been a more important time to impact the world’s carbon footprint. We’re proud to be the go-to solution for change for the world’s largest enterprises, and we’re excited about expanding this change throughout Asia,” concludes Julie. 

Media enquiries: Jody Boshoff >> Jody@cogo.co >> +64 27 397 3115