Emission information management system, emission information management apparatus, emission information management method, and program

Abstract

To provide a technique for facilitating the grasp of consumption behavior in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.SOLUTION: An emission information management system includes an emission information management apparatus and a user terminal device. The user terminal device includes: an input unit which receives an input of information indicating one or more purchased commodities purchased by a user; and an output unit which displays the total amount paid for the purchased commodities, and information indicating greenhouse gas emissions acquired from the emission information management apparatus. The emission information management apparatus includes: an emissions acquisition unit which acquires greenhouse gas emissions of a commodity; and a purchased commodity information acquisition unit which acquires, when acquiring information indicating the purchased commodity from the user terminal device, information indicating greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased commodity and transmits the information to the user terminal device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emission information management system, an emission information management device, an emission information management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] There are various technologies for determining greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent global warming.

[0003] In the information processing system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a user terminal reads product information and transmits it to an information processing device, the information processing device identifies the purchasing method and derives the greenhouse gas emission amount. The derived greenhouse gas emission amount is displayed on the user terminal. The information processing device derives the greenhouse gas emission amount by referencing the greenhouse gas emission amount per unit amount for each GTIN. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-67712 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an urgent issue for preventing global warming. The impact of consumer behavior on greenhouse gas emissions is by no means small. On the other hand, understanding spending is essential to changing consumer behavior.

[0006] The information processing system shown in Patent Document 1 does not anticipate encouraging consumers to change their behavior by understanding their spending.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that promotes understanding of consumption behavior in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present application includes a number of means for solving the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0009] In order to solve the above problem, one embodiment of the present invention provides an emissions information management system having an emissions information management device and a user terminal device, wherein the user terminal device comprises an input unit that accepts input of information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user, and an output unit that displays the total price of the purchased products and information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions obtained from the emissions information management device, and the emissions information management device comprises an emissions acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emissions of the products, and a purchased product information acquisition unit that, upon obtaining information indicating the purchased products from the user terminal device, obtains information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products and sends the information to the user terminal device.

[0010] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a recommendation management unit that determines recommended products to be introduced to the user, which are determined based on the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and the price of the purchased product.

[0011] The recommendation management unit may be characterized in that it determines the recommended product to be presented to a certain user based on the price of the purchased product and the greenhouse gas emission amount of a plurality of registered users.

[0012] The recommendation management unit may be characterized in that, upon receiving recommendation request information including information indicating a type of the product, the recommendation management unit determines the recommended product that belongs to the type.

[0013] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a ranking management unit that uses the price of the purchased product and the greenhouse gas emission amount to generate ranking information including a predetermined number of users with low greenhouse gas emissions.

[0014] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a target achievement determination unit that acquires a target value for greenhouse gas emissions within a specified period of time for a certain user and determines the degree to which the target value for greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased product has been achieved.

[0015] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a correlation analysis unit that performs a correlation analysis between the prices of the purchased products of multiple registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions and outputs the analysis results.

[0016] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a consumption behavior evaluation unit that evaluates the consumption behavior of a certain user using the analysis results, the price of the purchased products per unit period of the certain user, and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0017] The emissions information management system may be characterized in that it includes a seller terminal device owned by the seller of the product, the correlation analysis unit uses the analysis results to obtain an evaluation result of the seller, and the seller terminal device includes an evaluation result acquisition unit that obtains the evaluation result from the emissions information management device.

[0018] In addition, in order to solve the above problem, an emission information management device according to another aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising an emission acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emission amounts of products, and a purchased product information acquisition unit that, upon acquiring information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user, acquires and outputs information indicating the greenhouse gas emission amounts of the purchased products.

[0019] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a recommendation management unit that determines recommended products to be introduced to the user, which are determined based on the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and the price of the purchased product.

[0020] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a ranking management unit that uses the price of the purchased product and the greenhouse gas emission amount to generate ranking information including a predetermined number of users with low greenhouse gas emissions.

[0021] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a target achievement determination unit that acquires a target value for greenhouse gas emissions within a specified period of time for a certain user and determines the degree to which the target value for greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased product has been achieved.

[0022] The emission information management device may be characterized by including a correlation analysis unit that performs a correlation analysis between the prices of the purchased products of multiple registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions and outputs the analysis results.

[0023] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, another aspect of the present invention is an emission information management method executed by an emission information management device and a user terminal device, wherein the user terminal device has an input procedure for accepting input of information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user, and an output procedure for displaying the total price of the purchased products and information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions obtained from the emission information management device, and the emission information management device has an emission acquisition procedure for acquiring the greenhouse gas emissions of products, and a purchased product information acquisition procedure for, when information indicating the purchased products is obtained from the user terminal device, acquiring information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products and sending it to the user terminal device.

[0024] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a program according to another aspect of the present invention is a program that causes a processing unit of a computer to execute an information processing method, and is characterized in that it executes an emissions acquisition procedure that acquires information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of a product, and a purchased product information acquisition procedure that, when information indicating one or more purchased products by a user is acquired, acquires and outputs information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products. [Effects of the Invention]

[0025] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology that promotes understanding of consumption behavior in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[0026] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overview of a dialogue control system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of an emission information management system. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of emission amount information. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of purchase history information. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an emission amount information management device. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a purchase product information display process. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a goal achievement level determination process. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a user evaluation process. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a recommendation information presentation process. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a ranking presentation process. [Figure 11]10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a seller evaluation process. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a purchase information display screen. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a user evaluation result display screen. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a ranking display screen. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a seller evaluation result display screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an outline of an emission amount information management system 1. The emission amount information management system 1 in this embodiment includes an emission amount information management device 10, a user terminal device 20, and a seller terminal device 30. The emission amount information management device 10, the user terminal device 20, and the seller terminal device 30 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a network N.

[0029] The emission information management device 10 is a server computer or a PC, etc., and is a device owned by, for example, a business that provides emission information management services. The user terminal device 20 is a device owned by user A, and is a device such as a PC, smartphone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), notebook computer, or tablet terminal.

[0030] The seller terminal device 30 is a device owned by a seller who sells products, and may be a PC, smartphone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), laptop, or tablet terminal. A seller is a person who sells products, and may be a manufacturer, trading company, supplier, or vendor. User A can purchase products sold by the seller.

[0031] The seller operates the seller terminal device 30 to input the product to be sold, the price, and the greenhouse gas emissions related to the product. The emission information management device 10 registers the information input to the seller terminal device 30.

[0032] After shopping, user A presents receipt R to user terminal device 20, which reads it. User terminal device 20 acquires the contents of receipt R using a known method and sends it to emission information management device 10. User terminal device 20 may also acquire history information from when user A purchased products using a website and send it to emission information management device 10. Emission information management device 10 refers to information entered using seller terminal device 30, identifies the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products, and sends it to user terminal device 20. User terminal device 20 displays the greenhouse gas emissions for the purchased products received from emission information management device 10 and the total price of the purchased products.

[0033] The emission information management service may be part of a service provided by an EC (E-Commerce) site, or part of a service provided by a management company of a household accounting application.

[0034] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the emission information management system 1. As shown in FIG.

[0035] The emission amount information management device 10 comprises a processing unit 110, a memory unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150. The processing unit 110 comprehensively controls the entire emission amount information management device 10. The memory unit 120 stores information necessary for processing by the processing unit 110. The input unit 130 accepts information input to the emission amount information management device 10 from an input device connected via an input IF 14 described below. The output unit 140 outputs information stored in the emission amount information management device 10 to an output device connected via an output IF 15 described below. The communication unit 150 mediates the transmission and reception of information to and from the user terminal device 20 and the seller terminal device 30.

[0036] The processing unit 110 includes an emission amount acquisition unit 111, a purchased product information acquisition unit 112, a recommendation management unit 113, a ranking management unit 114, a goal achievement level determination unit 115, a correlation analysis unit 116, a consumption behavior evaluation unit 117, and a seller evaluation unit 118. The emission amount acquisition unit 111 acquires information indicating greenhouse gas emissions input to the seller terminal device 30, and generates emission information 121 described below. Note that the emission amount acquisition unit 111 may acquire greenhouse gas emissions input using an input device included in the emission amount information management device 10, and generate the emission information 121.

[0037] When the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 acquires information indicating emission request information, which is information requesting greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased product, from the user terminal device 20, it acquires the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product by referring to the emission information 121 and transmits it to the user terminal device 20.

[0038] The recommendation management unit 113 determines recommended products to be introduced to user A based on the greenhouse gas emissions and prices of purchased products. When the recommendation management unit 113 acquires recommendation request information including information indicating the type of product from the user terminal device 20, it transmits information indicating recommended products related to the type included in the recommendation request information to the user terminal device 20. For example, the recommendation management unit 113 determines recommended products to be presented to a certain user A based on the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of products purchased by multiple registered users A.

[0039] The ranking management unit 114 uses the price of the purchased product and the greenhouse gas emission amount to generate ranking information including a predetermined number of users A with low greenhouse gas emissions, and transmits this information to the user terminal device 20. The goal achievement determination unit 115 acquires the target value of greenhouse gas emission amount for a certain user A within a predetermined period, and determines the degree of achievement of the target value of greenhouse gas emission amount for the purchased product.

[0040] The correlation analysis unit 116 performs a correlation analysis between the prices of products purchased by multiple registered users A and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the purchased products, and outputs the analysis results. In addition, the cost of a product tends to increase and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product tend to increase when the product volume is larger than when it is smaller, or when the container is larger than when it is smaller. Furthermore, the price of a product tends to increase when the cost of a product is higher than when it is lower. From the above, it is expected that there is a correlation between the price of a product and the greenhouse gas emissions. The correlation analysis unit 116 analyzes the correlation between the price of a product and the greenhouse gas emissions. As an example, the correlation analysis unit 116 generates a scatter plot based on the price of a product and the greenhouse gas emissions. As another example, the correlation analysis unit 116 obtains a regression line (also called a regression line) showing the relationship between the price and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0041] The consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 uses the analysis results of the correlation analysis unit 116 to evaluate the consumption behavior of a certain user A. The seller evaluation unit 118 uses the analysis results of the correlation analysis unit 116 to evaluate a certain seller.

[0042] The storage unit 120 stores emission amount information 121 and purchase history information 122. The emission amount information 121 is information including greenhouse gas emissions from products. The purchase history information 122 is information including products purchased by user A and their prices.

[0043] The user terminal device 20 comprises a processing unit 210, a memory unit 220, an input unit 230, an output unit 240, and a communication unit 250. The processing unit 210 performs overall control of the user terminal device 20. The memory unit 220 stores information necessary for processing by the processing unit 210. The input unit 230 accepts information input to the user terminal device 20 from an input device possessed by the user terminal device 20. For example, the input unit 230 accepts input of information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by user A. The output unit 240 outputs information to an output device possessed by the user terminal device 20. For example, the output unit 240 outputs various screens to be presented to user A. The communication unit 250 mediates the transmission and reception of information between the emission amount information management device 10 and the seller terminal device 30.

[0044] The processing unit 210 includes an emission amount request unit 211, a recommendation request unit 212, and a ranking request unit 213. The emission amount request unit 211 generates emission amount request information including information indicating the purchased product, and transmits it to the emission amount information management device 10. When the recommendation request unit 212 receives an input operation specifying the type of product, it generates recommendation request information including the input type, and transmits it to the emission amount information management device 10. The ranking request unit 213 generates ranking request information in response to the input operation of user A, and transmits it to the emission amount information management device 10.

[0045] The seller terminal device 30 comprises a processing unit 310, a memory unit 320, an input unit 330, an output unit 340, and a communication unit 350. The processing unit 310 comprehensively controls the entire seller terminal device 30. The memory unit 320 stores information necessary for processing by the processing unit 310. The input unit 330 accepts information input to the seller terminal device 30 from an input device possessed by the seller terminal device 30. The output unit 340 outputs the stored information to an output device possessed by the seller terminal device 30. For example, the output unit 340 displays various screens to be presented to the seller. The communication unit 350 mediates the transmission and reception of information between the emission amount information management device 10 and the user terminal device 20.

[0046] The processing unit 310 includes an emission amount receiving unit 311 and an evaluation result acquisition unit 312. The emission amount receiving unit 311 receives input of greenhouse gas emissions related to the product and transmits the greenhouse gas emissions to the emission amount information management device 10. The evaluation result acquisition unit 312 acquires the evaluation result based on the correlation analysis from the emission amount information management device 10.

[0047] 3 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the emission amount information 121. For example, the emission amount information 121 includes a product ID, a product name, a type, a seller ID, a content amount, a price, an emission amount, and a unit.

[0048] A product ID is identification information that identifies a product. For example, a product ID is assigned to each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). A product name is a string that indicates the name of the product. A type is information that indicates the type to which a product belongs. For example, type is information that identifies which item a product is, such as "ham" or "sausage." A seller ID is identification information that identifies a seller. A content volume is a value that indicates the content volume of a product.

[0049] The price is a numerical value indicating the sales price of the product. The emission amount is information indicating the greenhouse gas emission amount of the product in the life cycle classification. The unit is information indicating the unit of greenhouse gas emission. The emission amount information 121 may include life cycle classifications classified into five categories, for example, "raw material procurement," "production," "distribution," "use / maintenance," and "disposal / recycling."

[0050] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of purchase history information 122. For example, purchase history information 122 includes a user ID, a purchased product ID, and a purchase price. The user ID is identification information that identifies user A who owns user terminal device 20. The purchased product ID is identification information that identifies the product purchased by user A. The purchase price is a numerical value that indicates the price at the time of purchase.

[0051] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the emission amount information management device 10. The emission amount information management device 10 includes a calculation device 11, a memory 12, an external storage device 13, an input IF (Interface) 14, an output IF 15, and a communication IF 16, and the components are connected by a bus.

[0052] The calculation device 11 is a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and in the emission information management device 10, which executes processing according to a program recorded in the memory 12 or the external storage device 13, processing is performed by the calculation device 11 which operates according to a program read onto the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. The processing unit 110 realizes each function by the calculation device 11 executing the program.

[0053] The memory 12 is a storage device such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or flash memory, and functions as a storage area from which programs and data are temporarily read. The external storage device 13 is a writable and readable storage medium and storage media drive, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable), or DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory). The functions of the storage unit 120 are realized by the memory 12 or the external storage device 13. Note that the functions of the storage unit 120 may also be realized by a storage device connected via the communication IF 16.

[0054] The input IF14 is an interface for receiving input operations from an operator, and is connected to input devices such as a touch panel, keyboard, mouse, microphone, etc. The output IF15 is an interface for outputting information to an output device such as an OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display built into the emission amount information management device 10.

[0055] The communication IF 16 is an interface for connecting the emission amount information management device 10 to the network N, and is connected to a communication device such as a LAN (Local Area Network) card. The emission amount information management device 10 may also have a storage medium drive device (not shown) that inputs and outputs information from portable media such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0056] The processing of each component of the emission information management device 10 may be executed by one piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware. Furthermore, the processing of each component of the emission information management device 10 may be realized by one program or by multiple programs.

[0057] The hardware configurations of the user terminal device 20 and the seller terminal device 30 are the same as those of the emission information management device 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0058] 6 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the purchased product information display process. The process of this sequence diagram starts when the user terminal device 20 receives an input operation indicating a request to read the receipt R.

[0059] First, the emission amount request unit 211 of the user terminal device 20 reads the receipt R and transmits emission amount request information to the emission amount information management device 10 (step S11). Specifically, the emission amount request unit 211 reads the receipt R, for example, using a camera app or the like. The emission amount request unit 211 acquires information identifying the purchased items and the purchase price written on the receipt R using a known method. The emission amount request unit 211 generates emission amount request information including the information identifying the purchased items and the purchase price, and transmits it to the emission amount information management device 10.

[0060] As mentioned above, when user A purchases a product using an EC (E-Commerce) site, the emission request unit 211 may accept an input operation to identify the purchased product for which greenhouse gas emissions are requested, and generate emission request information including information identifying the entered purchased product and the purchase price.

[0061] Next, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 of the emission amount information management device 10 stores the received information in the purchase history information 122 (step S12). Specifically, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 associates the user ID that identifies user A who sent the emission amount request information, the purchased product ID that identifies the purchased product, and the purchase price, and generates and stores a new record in the purchase history information 122.

[0062] Next, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 of the emission amount information management device 10 refers to the emission information 121 and transmits the greenhouse gas emission amounts of the purchased products (step S13). Specifically, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 refers to the emission information 121 and extracts the greenhouse gas emission amounts associated with each piece of information indicating the purchased products included in the emission amount request information received in step S11. The purchased product information acquisition unit 112 transmits the extracted greenhouse gas emission amounts to the user terminal device 20.

[0063] Next, the output unit 240 of the user terminal device 20 displays the greenhouse gas emission amount and the total price (step S14). Specifically, the emission amount requesting unit 211 generates screen information for the purchase information display screen 260, which includes the total price of the purchased items written on the receipt R read in step S11 and the greenhouse gas emission amount transmitted from the emission information management device 10 in step S13. The output unit 240 displays the purchase information display screen 260.

[0064] 12 is a diagram showing an example of a purchase information display screen 260. The purchase information display screen 260 includes a price display area 261 and a greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262. The price display area 261 is an area that displays the total amount of the purchased items by user A. The greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262 is an area that displays information about the greenhouse gas emission amount related to the purchased items. As shown in FIG. 12, the greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262 may display information about the greenhouse gas emission amount for each life cycle category of the purchased items.

[0065] The purchase information display screen 260 may display the price and greenhouse gas emission amount for each type of purchased product. For example, among the purchased products, the total price and greenhouse gas emission amount for "daily necessities" may be displayed separately from the total price and greenhouse gas emission amount for "food products." In addition, the greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262 may display information that allows the amount of greenhouse gas emission to be determined. For example, instead of the absolute value of the greenhouse gas emission amount, the greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262 may display a symbol determined according to the absolute value of the greenhouse gas emission amount or information indicating an increase or decrease.

[0066] As described above, in this embodiment, by displaying information about the total amount of purchased items and greenhouse gas emissions, User A can recognize the relationship between consumption behavior and greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, since User A can recognize the impact of his or her daily consumption behavior on greenhouse gas emissions, this helps encourage improvement of consumption behavior toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

[0067] 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a target achievement level determination process. The process of this flowchart is started, for example, when the emission information management device 10 receives information indicating a target achievement level determination request from the user terminal device 20. Note that before this process starts, the target achievement level determination unit 115 of the emission information management device 10 receives the target value of greenhouse gas emissions for a predetermined period that was input to the user terminal device 20.

[0068] First, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 extracts the greenhouse gas emissions of products purchased over a predetermined period by user A, who sent the request to determine the degree of goal achievement (step S21). Specifically, the purchased product information acquisition unit 112 refers to the purchase history information 122 and extracts purchased products that user A, whose user terminal device 20 sent the request to determine the degree of goal achievement, purchased over a predetermined period (e.g., the most recent month). The purchased product information acquisition unit 112 refers to the emission information 121, identifies the greenhouse gas emissions associated with each of the extracted purchased products, and calculates the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products over the predetermined period.

[0069] Next, the target achievement determination unit 115 identifies the target value of the greenhouse gas emission amount (step S22). Specifically, the target achievement determination unit 115 identifies the target value of the greenhouse gas emission amount that was received before the start of this process.

[0070] Next, the target achievement determination unit 115 determines the degree of achievement of the target value (step S23). Specifically, the target achievement determination unit 115 determines the degree of achievement of the target value using the greenhouse gas emission amount extracted in step S21 and the target value of greenhouse gas emission amount identified in step S22. For example, the target achievement determination unit 115 calculates the value obtained by dividing the greenhouse gas emission amount by the target value as the degree of achievement. Note that the target achievement determination unit 115 may also determine the degree of achievement of the target value by determining to which rank the value obtained by dividing the greenhouse gas emission amount by the target value belongs. In this case, a stepwise ranking is set in advance in an area (not shown) of the storage unit 120 of the emission amount information management device 10, so that the larger the value obtained by dividing the greenhouse gas emission amount by the target value, the more advantageous it is.

[0071] Next, goal achievement level determination unit 115 transmits the degree of achievement to user terminal device 20 (step S24). Specifically, goal achievement level determination unit 115 transmits the degree of achievement of the target value determined in step S23 to user terminal device 20 that transmitted the goal achievement level determination request. If a rank is determined according to the degree of achievement in step S23, goal achievement level determination unit 115 transmits the rank to user terminal device 20. Thereafter, processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0072] As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to allow user A to understand how close the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the product that he or she actually purchased are to the target value. In other words, it is possible to increase user A's motivation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[0073] 8 is a flowchart showing an example of a user evaluation process. The process of this flowchart is executed in the emission amount information management device 10 when the emission amount information management device 10 receives information indicating an evaluation request transmitted from the user terminal device 20 in response to an input operation by user A, for example.

[0074] First, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 extracts the prices of products purchased by user A, who sent the evaluation request, over a predetermined period and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (step S31). Specifically, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 extracts, from the purchase history information 122, the purchased products and the prices purchased by user A, who sent the evaluation request, over a predetermined period (for example, the most recent month). The consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 refers to the emission amount information 121 and extracts the greenhouse gas emissions of the extracted purchased products. Note that the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 may extract the purchased products and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the purchased products over a period that user A wishes to evaluate, which is included in the evaluation request, rather than over a predetermined period.

[0075] Next, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of products purchased by all registered users during a predetermined period (step S32). Specifically, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 refers to the purchase history information 122 and extracts the prices and purchased products purchased by all registered users during the predetermined period used to extract the purchased products in step S31. The consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 refers to the emission amount information 121 and extracts the greenhouse gas emissions of the extracted purchased products. Note that the target from which the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 extracts purchased products is not limited to all registered users. For example, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 may extract a predetermined number of arbitrary users and extract the purchased products and greenhouse gas emissions.

[0076] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 performs a correlation analysis between the purchase prices of all registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions (step S33). Specifically, the correlation analysis unit 116 identifies a regression line between the prices of the products purchased by all registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0077] Next, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 evaluates the consumption behavior of the user (step S34). The consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 can use various methods to evaluate the consumption behavior of user A. As an example, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 treats as the evaluation result a graph showing the regression line identified in step S33 and the regression lines of the prices of the products purchased by user A who sent the evaluation request and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0078] As another example, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 calculates the degree of deviation from the regression line identified in step S33 for each product purchased by user A and converts the degree of deviation into an evaluation value. The evaluation value is set so that the degree of deviation becomes more favorable as the greenhouse gas emissions decrease and becomes more unfavorable as the greenhouse gas emissions increase. The consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 obtains an evaluation result of user A's consumption behavior by dividing the total evaluation value by the number of purchased products and determining which rank the average value belongs to. Note that a rank is set in a hierarchy in an area (not shown) of the memory unit 120 of the emission amount information management device 10 so that the more favorable the evaluation value, the better the evaluation.

[0079] Next, the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 transmits the evaluation result to the user terminal device 20. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart. Upon receiving the evaluation result, the output unit 240 of the user terminal device 20 causes the display device to display a user evaluation result display screen 270 showing the evaluation result.

[0080] 13 is a diagram showing an example of a user evaluation result display screen 270. The user evaluation result display screen 270 includes a total amount display area 271, a total greenhouse gas emission amount display area 272, and an evaluation result display area 273.

[0081] The total amount display area 271 is an area that includes the total price of the products purchased by user A. The total greenhouse gas emission display area 272 is an area that includes the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased products. The evaluation result display area 273 is an area that includes the evaluation result derived by the consumption behavior evaluation unit 117 of the emission information management device 10. The evaluation result display area 273 in Figure 13 displays "Gold" as the rank to which user A's consumption behavior belongs.

[0082] As described above, in this embodiment, greenhouse gas emissions are evaluated taking into account the cost of purchased items, preventing bias in the evaluation results due to consumption units such as purchase amounts, and obtaining fair evaluation results. In addition, this embodiment evaluates the consumption behavior of a user within a predetermined period. However, the emission information management device 10 may also derive evaluation results for purchased items for each shopping unit, i.e., for each receipt R read by the user terminal device 20.

[0083] 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a recommendation information presentation process. The process of this flowchart is executed in the emission information management device 10 when the emission information management device 10 receives recommendation request information transmitted from the user terminal device 20 in response to an input operation by user A. The recommendation request information includes information indicating the type of product for which a recommendation is requested.

[0084] First, the recommendation management unit 113 acquires recommendation request information transmitted from the user terminal device 20 (step S41).

[0085] Next, the recommendation management unit 113 extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of purchased products of all registered users corresponding to the specified type (step S42). Specifically, the recommendation management unit 113 references the purchase history information 122 and extracts the purchased products and prices of the purchased products of the type specified in the recommendation request information acquired in step S41 that have been purchased by at least one registered user. The recommendation management unit 113 references the emission information 121 and extracts the greenhouse gas emissions of the extracted purchased products. Note that the target of the extraction of purchased products by the recommendation management unit 113 is not limited to all registered users. The recommendation management unit 113 may extract a predetermined number of arbitrary users and extract the purchased products and greenhouse gas emissions.

[0086] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 performs a correlation analysis between the purchase prices of all registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions (step S43). Specifically, the correlation analysis unit 116 identifies a regression line between the prices of the products purchased by all registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0087] Next, the recommendation management unit 113 determines a recommended product using the greenhouse gas emission amount and the price (step S44). Specifically, the recommendation management unit 113 determines any product located on or near the regression line identified as the analysis result in step S43 as a recommended product.

[0088] The recommendation management unit 113 may determine recommended products by referencing the purchase history information 122, extracting products of a specified type purchased by user A who sent the recommendation request information, and calculating the average price (referred to as the "user average purchase price"). In this case, for example, the recommendation management unit 113 extracts one or more purchased products purchased by user A at a price related to the user average purchase price or a price close to the average price. The recommendation management unit 113 calculates the average greenhouse gas emissions of the extracted purchased products (referred to as the "user average greenhouse gas emission value").

[0089] The recommendation management unit 113 compares the user's average greenhouse gas value with the greenhouse gas emissions of products on the regression line identified in step S43 that are sold for a price close to the average user purchase price. If the product on the regression line has lower greenhouse gas emissions, the recommendation management unit 113 determines the product on the regression line that is sold for a price close to the average user purchase price as the recommended product. If the product on the regression line has higher greenhouse gas emissions, the recommendation management unit 113 determines the product that is sold for a price close to the average user purchase price and has lower greenhouse gas emissions than the user's average greenhouse gas value as the recommended product.

[0090] The method for determining recommended products is not limited to the above-described method. The recommendation management unit 113 may determine recommended products based on the price and greenhouse gas emissions of products purchased by any user. For example, the recommendation management unit 113 may determine, as the recommended product, one of any products of a specified type that has a lower greenhouse gas emission amount than the product purchased by user A who sent the recommendation request information.

[0091] Next, the recommendation management unit 113 transmits information including the recommended products to the user terminal device 20 (step S45). After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart. The user terminal device 20 generates screen information for a screen that displays the recommended products. The output unit 240 displays a screen including the recommended products.

[0092] As described above, according to this embodiment, recommended products recommended for purchase to user A are displayed taking greenhouse gas emissions into consideration. Therefore, user A can easily engage in environmentally friendly consumption behavior. Furthermore, since the amount of previous purchases is taken into consideration when determining recommended products, user A can improve his / her consumption behavior within an appropriate range based on his / her past consumption behavior.

[0093] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a ranking presentation process. The process of this flowchart is executed in the emission amount information management device 10 when the emission amount information management device 10 receives ranking request information transmitted from the user terminal device 20 in response to an input operation by user A, for example.

[0094] First, the ranking management unit 114 generates ranking information that ranks users with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions relative to the purchase price (step S51). Specifically, the ranking management unit 114 refers to the purchase history information 122 and calculates the total price of each type of purchased product and the total greenhouse gas emissions for each user. The ranking management unit 114 generates ranking information that ranks a predetermined number of users with the lowest ratio of total greenhouse gas emissions relative to the total price of each purchased product for each type in order of decreasing ratio.

[0095] Next, the ranking management unit 114 transmits the ranking information generated in step S51 to the user terminal device 20 (step S52). After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart. The user terminal device 20 generates screen information for a ranking display screen 280 that displays the ranking information. The output unit 240 displays the ranking display screen 280.

[0096] 14 is a diagram showing an example of the ranking display screen 280. The ranking display screen 280 includes a ranking display area 281. The ranking display area 281 is an area that lists, for each type of product, users who have the lowest total greenhouse gas emissions relative to the total price of the purchased products. By displaying the ranking display screen 280 on the user terminal device 20, user A can recognize the consumption behavior of other users, which increases his or her motivation to reduce his or her own greenhouse gas emissions.

[0097] 11 is a flowchart showing an example of seller evaluation processing. In the seller evaluation processing, the emission information management device 10 evaluates the seller using the greenhouse gas emissions of the product. The processing of this flowchart is started in the emission information management device 10 when evaluation request information is received from the seller terminal device 30.

[0098] First, the correlation analysis unit 116 identifies the type of the evaluation target (step S61). Specifically, the correlation analysis unit 116 identifies one of the product types as the type of the evaluation target.

[0099] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of the products sold by the seller who sent the evaluation request during a predetermined period (step S62). Specifically, the correlation analysis unit 116 refers to the emission amount information 121 and extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of each product of the type identified in step S61 that is sold by the seller who sent the evaluation request information.

[0100] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of the registered products (step S63). Specifically, the correlation analysis unit 116 extracts the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of each product included in the emission information 121 and of the type identified in step S61. Note that the correlation analysis unit 116 may extract the prices and greenhouse gas emissions of all products in the type identified in step S61, or may randomly select any number of products and extract the prices and greenhouse gas emissions.

[0101] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 performs a correlation analysis between the registered products and the products sold by the seller (step S64). The correlation analysis unit 116 can use various methods for the correlation analysis between the registered products and the products sold by the seller. As an example, the correlation analysis unit 116 creates a scatter plot for all products included in the emission amount information 121 (i.e., registered products) with the price and greenhouse gas emissions as axes. The correlation analysis unit 116 identifies a regression line between the price and greenhouse gas emissions of all products. The correlation analysis unit 116 also identifies a regression line between the price and greenhouse gas emissions of products sold by the seller to be evaluated. The correlation analysis unit 116 treats the scatter plot and a graph showing both regression lines as the evaluation results of the correlation analysis.

[0102] As another example, the correlation analysis unit 116 calculates the deviation between the price of the registered product and the regression line of greenhouse gas emissions for each product sold by the seller to be evaluated, and converts the deviation into an evaluation value. The evaluation value is set so that the deviation becomes more favorable as the greenhouse gas emissions decrease and becomes more unfavorable as the greenhouse gas emissions increase. The correlation analysis unit 116 obtains the seller's evaluation result by dividing the total evaluation value by the number of products sold by the seller to calculate an average value and determining which rank the average value belongs to. Note that a rank system (not shown) is set in the memory unit 120 of the emission amount information management device 10 so that the more favorable the evaluation value, the better the evaluation.

[0103] Next, the correlation analysis unit 116 determines whether or not there is a type that has not been specified as an evaluation result (step S65). If the correlation analysis unit 116 determines that there is a type that has not been specified as an evaluation result ("YES" in step S65), the process proceeds to step S61.

[0104] If the correlation analysis unit 116 determines that there is no type that has not been specified as an evaluation result ("NO" in step S65), it transmits the evaluation result to the seller terminal device 30 (step S66). After that, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0105] The evaluation result acquisition unit 312 of the seller terminal device 30 that has received the evaluation result generates screen information for the seller evaluation result display screen 290 that displays the evaluation result. The output unit 340 displays the seller evaluation result display screen 290.

[0106] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a seller evaluation result display screen 290. The seller evaluation result display screen 290 has an evaluation result display area 291. The evaluation result display area 291 is an area for displaying the evaluation results by the emission information management device 10. The seller evaluation result display screen 290 shown in FIG. 15 shows evaluation results for products evaluated by "Company A" and categorized as "daily necessities." The evaluation result display area 291 in the figure shows a scatter plot of products with the price of the product on the vertical axis and the greenhouse gas emissions on the horizontal axis. The scatter plot distinguishes between products sold by Company A and products of other companies categorized as "daily necessities" that are registered in the emission information management device. The scatter plot also displays a regression line for the products sold by Company A and a regression line for all registered products.

[0107] 15, the evaluation result display area 291 displays the rank of "Silver" as the rank of the evaluation result of Company A. That is, the correlation analysis unit 116 of the emission information management device determines that the evaluation value of Company A belongs to the rank of "Silver," which is the second most favorable evaluation result.

[0108] As described above, this embodiment allows a seller to recognize the position of its own company among its competitors in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, this embodiment can encourage sellers to sell environmentally friendly products.

[0109] Although the above describes each embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described exemplary embodiment and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described exemplary embodiment has been described in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to an embodiment including all of the components described herein. Furthermore, part of the components of one exemplary embodiment can be replaced with the components of another exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, the components of another exemplary embodiment can be added to the components of one exemplary embodiment. Furthermore, part of the components of each exemplary embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced with other components. Furthermore, some or all of the above-described components, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be implemented in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Furthermore, the control lines and information lines in the figures are only those considered necessary for explanation, and not necessarily all of them are shown. It can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

[0110] Furthermore, the functional configurations of the emission amount information management device 10, the user terminal device 20, and the seller terminal device 30 are classified according to the main processing content for ease of understanding. The classification method and names of the components do not limit the present invention. As described above, the configurations of the emission amount information management device 10, the user terminal device 20, and the seller terminal device 30 can be classified into more components according to the processing content. Furthermore, a single component can be classified to perform even more processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 1: Emission information management system, 10: Emission information management device, 11: Calculation device, 12: Memory, 13: External storage device, 14: Input IF, 15: Output IF, 16: Communication IF, 20: User terminal device, 30: Seller terminal device, 110·210·310: Processing unit, 111: Emission acquisition unit, 112: Purchase product information acquisition unit, 113: Recommendation management unit, 114: Ranking management unit, 115: Goal achievement determination unit, 116: Correlation analysis unit, 117: Consumption behavior evaluation unit, 120·220·320: Memory unit, 121: Emission information, 122: Purchase history information, 130·230·330: Input unit, 140·240·330: 40: Output unit, 150·250·350: Communication unit, 211: Emission amount request unit, 212: Recommendation request unit, 213: Ranking request unit, 311: Emission amount reception unit, 312: Evaluation result acquisition unit, 260: Purchase information display screen, 261: Price display area, 262: Greenhouse gas emission amount display area, 270: User evaluation result display screen, 271: Total amount display area, 272: Total greenhouse gas emission amount display area, 273: Evaluation result display area, 280: Ranking display screen, 281: Ranking display area, 290: Seller evaluation result display screen, 291: Evaluation result display area, A: User, N: Network, R: Receipt

Claims

1. An emission information management system having an emission information management device and a user terminal device, The user terminal device an input unit that accepts input of information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user; an output unit that displays the total price of the purchased goods and information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions acquired from the emission information management device, The emission information management device an emission acquisition unit that acquires greenhouse gas emission amounts of the product; an emission information management system comprising: a purchased product information acquisition unit that, when information indicating the purchased product is acquired from the user terminal device, acquires information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and transmits the information to the user terminal device.

2. The emission information management system according to claim 1, The emission information management device An emission information management system characterized by comprising a recommendation management unit that determines recommended products to be introduced to the user, the recommended products being determined based on the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and the price of the purchased product.

3. 3. The emission information management system according to claim 2, An emissions information management system characterized in that the recommendation management unit determines the recommended products to be presented to a user based on the price of the purchased products and the greenhouse gas emissions of multiple registered users.

4. 3. The emission information management system according to claim 2, The emission information management system is characterized in that, when the recommendation management unit receives recommendation request information including information indicating the type of the product, it determines the recommended product that belongs to the type.

5. The emission information management system according to claim 1, The emission information management device An emission information management system characterized by comprising a ranking management unit that generates ranking information including a predetermined number of users with low greenhouse gas emissions using the price of the purchased goods and the greenhouse gas emissions.

6. The emission information management system according to claim 1, The emission information management device An emissions information management system characterized by comprising a target achievement determination unit that acquires a user's target value for greenhouse gas emissions within a specified period and determines the degree to which the target value for greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased products has been achieved.

7. The emission information management system according to claim 1, The emission information management device An emissions information management system characterized by comprising a correlation analysis unit that performs a correlation analysis between the prices of the purchased products of multiple registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions and outputs the analysis results.

8. The emission information management system according to claim 7, The emission information management device An emissions information management system characterized by comprising a consumption behavior evaluation unit that evaluates the consumption behavior of a certain user using the analysis results, the price of the purchased goods per unit period of the certain user, and the greenhouse gas emissions.

9. 9. The emission information management system according to claim 7 or 8, A seller terminal device owned by a seller of a product is provided, the correlation analysis unit obtains an evaluation result of the seller using the analysis result; The seller terminal device An emission information management system comprising an evaluation result acquisition unit that acquires the evaluation results from the emission information management device.

10. an emission acquisition unit that acquires greenhouse gas emission amounts of the product; An emission information management device characterized by comprising: a purchased product information acquisition unit that, when it acquires information indicating one or more purchased products by a user, acquires and outputs information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products.

11. The emission information management device according to claim 10, An emission information management device characterized by having a recommendation management unit that determines recommended products to be introduced to the user, which are determined based on the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and the price of the purchased product.

12. The emission information management device according to claim 10, An emission information management device characterized by comprising a ranking management unit that generates ranking information including a predetermined number of users with low greenhouse gas emissions using the price of the purchased goods and the greenhouse gas emissions.

13. The emission information management device according to claim 10, An emission information management device characterized by comprising a target achievement determination unit that acquires a target value for greenhouse gas emissions within a specified period of time for a certain user and determines the degree to which the target value for greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchased products has been achieved.

14. The emission information management device according to claim 10, An emission information management device characterized by comprising a correlation analysis unit that performs a correlation analysis between the prices of the purchased products of multiple registered users and the greenhouse gas emissions and outputs the analysis results.

15. An emission amount information management method executed by an emission amount information management device and a user terminal device, The user terminal device an input step for accepting input of information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user; an output procedure for displaying the total price of the purchased goods and information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions acquired from the emission information management device, The emission information management device an emission acquisition procedure for acquiring the greenhouse gas emissions of a product; an emission information management method characterized by comprising: a purchased product information acquisition procedure for, when information indicating the purchased product is acquired from the user terminal device, acquiring information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased product and transmitting the information to the user terminal device.

16. A program for causing a processing unit of a computer to execute an information processing method, an emission acquisition procedure for acquiring information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the product; A program characterized by executing a purchased product information acquisition procedure that, when information indicating one or more purchased products purchased by a user is acquired, acquires and outputs information indicating the greenhouse gas emissions of the purchased products.

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