Challenges in Coupling Digital Payments Data and Input-output Data to Change Consumption Patterns

As society become more digitalized, new possibilities of combining data arise. This study describes the attempt to couple information on digital expenditures obtainable from bank accounts with LCA-like data to calculate personalized and consumer-specific environmental footprints of consumption patterns. In Denmark, most purchases are performed using credit cards, and this information is available from consumers' bank accounts. These data were matched with the categories of the Multi-Regional Input-Output database EXIOBASE via different conversion tables for Danish and European industrial classifications (DB07, NACE1-2) with an automated procedure. This matching allows then to calculate the carbon footprint of the specific consumer. In principle, this information could be used to raise awareness on consumption-related impacts and trigger behavioral change. However, several challenges exist to reach this goal, such as data aggregation, privacy, and communication issues. This article describes a first experimental attempt to match digital expenditures with Input-Output data and touches on the challenges ahead.