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

Abstract

To provide a technique for facilitating improvement of consumption behavior in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.SOLUTION: An emission point management apparatus includes: a commodity information acquisition unit which acquires identification information of a target commodity; an emissions acquisition unit which acquires greenhouse gas emissions of the target commodity; and a point setting unit which sets a privilege point to be offered when the target commodity is purchased, using the greenhouse gas emissions acquired by the emissions acquisition unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an emission amount point management device, an emission amount point management method, a program, and an emission amount point management system. [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 out 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 referring to the greenhouse gas emission amount per unit amount for each GTIN (Global Trade Item Number). [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. Therefore, technology that encourages specific behavioral changes among consumers is needed.

[0006] The information processing system disclosed in Patent Document 1 displays greenhouse gas emissions after a product is purchased, and does not directly contribute to changing consumer behavior.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that encourages improvement in consumer 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, an emission point management device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising a product information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a target product, an emission acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product, and a point setting unit that uses the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired by the emission acquisition unit to set bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product.

[0010] The point setting unit may be characterized by identifying the type to which the target product belongs, and setting the bonus points for the target product so that the product with the lower greenhouse gas emissions among products belonging to the same type is more advantageous.

[0011] The emission point management device may be characterized by including a ranking generation unit that, when it receives a designation of a product type, generates ranking information for a plurality of products belonging to the type based on the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0012] The ranking generation unit may generate the ranking information for each of a plurality of life cycle segments.

[0013] The emission acquisition unit may acquire the greenhouse gas emission amounts input into a predetermined format for each product, and the predetermined format may request input of the greenhouse gas emission amounts for each of a plurality of life cycle segments.

[0014] The point setting unit may be characterized in that it performs a correlation analysis between the price of the product and the greenhouse gas emissions, and sets the bonus points using the degree of deviation between the price and the greenhouse gas emissions of the target product and the correlation result obtained from the correlation analysis.

[0015] The point setting unit may be characterized in that it obtains a regression line between the price of the product and the greenhouse gas emissions, and sets the bonus points so that the bonus points become more advantageous as the deviation between the regression line and a coordinate point defined using the price and greenhouse gas emissions of the target product increases in the direction of lower greenhouse gas emissions.

[0016] The emission point management device may include a prediction model generation unit that generates a prediction model that predicts predicted greenhouse gas emissions from the price of a product using greenhouse gas emission information that associates the price of the product with the greenhouse gas emissions related to the product, and the point setting unit may set the bonus points according to the difference between the greenhouse gas emissions acquired by the emission acquisition unit and the predicted greenhouse gas emissions predicted by the prediction model using the price of the target product.

[0017] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another aspect of the present invention provides an emission point management method, which is characterized by comprising a product information acquisition step for acquiring identification information of a target product, an emission acquisition step for acquiring the greenhouse gas emissions of the target product, and a point setting step for setting bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product using the greenhouse gas emissions acquired in the emission acquisition step.

[0018] In addition, in order to solve the above 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 a product information acquisition procedure that acquires identification information of a target product, an emission amount acquisition procedure that acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product, and a point setting procedure that uses the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired in the emission amount acquisition procedure to set bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product.

[0019] In addition, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another aspect of the present invention is an emission point management system having an emission point management device, a user terminal device, and a seller terminal device, wherein the seller terminal device has an emission management unit that accepts input of greenhouse gas emissions for a product and transmits it to the emission point management device, the user terminal device has a point information request unit that accepts input of identification information of a target product and requests information about bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product, and the emission point management device has a product information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of the target product from the user terminal device, an emission acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emissions of the target product, and a point setting unit that sets bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product using the greenhouse gas emissions acquired by the emission acquisition unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a technology that encourages improvement in consumer behavior in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[0021] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [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 point 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 point information. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of an emission amount point management device. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an emission amount registration process. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a point display process. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a ranking presentation process. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a discharge amount registration screen. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a target product information display screen. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a ranking display screen. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a point determination process. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of an emission amount point management system in a second modified example. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a point setting process in a second modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] 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 point management system 1. The emission amount point management system 1 in this embodiment has an emission amount point management device 10, a user terminal device 20, and a seller terminal device 30. The emission amount point 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.

[0024] The emission amount point management device 10 is a server computer or a PC, etc., and is a device owned by, for example, a business that provides an emission amount point management service. 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), laptop computer, or tablet terminal.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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 point management device 10 registers the information input to the seller terminal device 30. Furthermore, the emission point management device 10 sets bonus points (hereinafter referred to as "points") to be awarded to User A who purchases each product based on the greenhouse gas emissions. Points are determined so that products with lower greenhouse gas emissions are more advantageous.

[0027] The user terminal device 20 identifies the target product S based on an input operation by the user A. The user terminal device 20 transmits point request information including identification information that identifies the target product S to the emission amount point management device 10. The user terminal device 20 displays the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product S and the points that will be obtained when the target product S is purchased, which are acquired in response to the point request information.

[0028] For example, user A purchases target product S via a website. When the emission point management device 10 acquires information indicating that target product S has been purchased, it awards points to user A. As one example, the awarded points can be used when purchasing products sold by a business operator of an emission point management service on the website or in a physical store. As another example, the awarded points can be used when purchasing products sold by a seller who has a seller terminal device 30 on the website or in a physical store.

[0029] The emission point management service may be part of a service provided by an EC (E-Commerce) site. That is, the emission point management device 10 awards points when a target product S is purchased on a website provided by the emission point management device 10 itself. The awarded points can be used when purchasing products on the website.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the emission amount point management system 1. As shown in FIG.

[0031] The emission amount point 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 point 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 point management device 10 from an input device connected via an input IF 14 described later. The output unit 140 outputs information stored in the emission amount point management device 10 to an output device connected via an output IF 15 described later. 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.

[0032] The processing unit 110 includes a product information acquisition unit 111, an emission amount acquisition unit 112, a point setting unit 113, and a ranking generation unit 114. The product information acquisition unit 111 acquires identification information of the target product S. For example, the product information acquisition unit 111 acquires identification information read from the product by the user terminal device 20. The emission amount acquisition unit 112 acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount input to the seller terminal device 30, and generates emission amount information 121, which will be described later. Note that the emission amount acquisition unit 112 may acquire greenhouse gas emission amount input using an input device included in the emission amount point management device 10, and generate the emission amount information 121. Furthermore, upon acquiring point request information transmitted from the user terminal device 20, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 refers to the emission information 121 and acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product S.

[0033] The point setting unit 113 uses the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired by the emission acquisition unit 112 to set points to be awarded to user A in response to the purchase of the target product S. The point setting unit 113 identifies the type to which the target product S belongs, and sets points for the target product S so that, among products in the same type, products with lower greenhouse gas emissions are more advantageous. In addition, the point setting unit 113 registers points input via the input unit 130 in point information 122, which will be described later. The point setting unit 113 determines the points for the target product S included in the point request information by referring to the point information 122.

[0034] When the ranking generation unit 114 receives the designation of a product type, it generates ranking information of a plurality of products belonging to the designated type based on the greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the ranking generation unit 114 generates ranking information that lists products in order of least greenhouse gas emissions for each product life cycle category.

[0035] The storage unit 120 stores emission amount information 121 and point information 122. The emission amount information 121 is information including the greenhouse gas emission amount of a product. The point information 122 is information including the points of a product.

[0036] 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 entire 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. The output unit 240 outputs the stored information to an output device possessed by the user terminal device 20. The communication unit 250 mediates the transmission and reception of information between the emission amount point management device 10 and the seller terminal device 30.

[0037] The processing unit 210 includes a point information request unit 211 and a ranking request unit 212. The point information request unit 211 accepts input of identification information that identifies the target product S, generates point request information including the identification information, and transmits it to the emission amount point management device 10. The ranking request unit 212 accepts input of the type of ranking requested, generates ranking request information including the type, and transmits it to the emission amount point management device 10.

[0038] 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. The communication unit 350 mediates the transmission and reception of information between the emission amount point management device 10 and the user terminal device 20.

[0039] The processing unit 310 includes an emission amount management unit 311. The emission amount management unit 311 receives input of greenhouse gas emission amounts related to products and transmits the amounts to the emission point management device 10.

[0040] 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 life cycle classification, an emission amount, and a unit.

[0041] 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 what item a product is, such as "refrigerator" or "washing machine." A seller ID is identification information that identifies a seller. A content volume is a value that indicates the content volume of a product.

[0042] The life cycle classification is information that indicates the stages of a product's life cycle, which is the basis for calculating greenhouse gas emissions. In the example below, the life cycle classification is categorized into five stages: "Raw material procurement," "Production," "Distribution," "Use / maintenance," and "Disposal / recycling." Emissions is information that indicates the greenhouse gas emissions of a product in its life cycle classification. Units is information that indicates the units of greenhouse gas emissions.

[0043] 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the point information 122. The point information 122 includes, for example, a product ID and points. The product ID is identification information that identifies a product. The points are values ​​that indicate the points assigned to a product. For example, the points are input by a business operator of an emission point management service.

[0044] 5 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the emission amount point management device 10. The emission amount point 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 each component is connected by a bus.

[0045] The calculation device 11 is a calculation device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and in the emission amount point 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.

[0046] 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.

[0047] 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 point management device 10.

[0048] The communication IF 16 is an interface for connecting the emission amount point 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 point management device 10 may have a storage medium drive device (not shown) for inputting and outputting information from portable media such as a CD (Compact Disk) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0049] The processing of each component of the emission amount point management device 10 may be executed by one piece of hardware or by multiple pieces of hardware. Also, the processing of each component of the emission amount point management device 10 may be realized by one program or by multiple programs.

[0050] The hardware configurations of the user terminal device 20 and the seller terminal device 30 are the same as those of the emission amount point management device 10, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the emission amount registration process. The process of this flowchart starts when the seller terminal device 30 receives an input operation to instruct the emission amount registration screen 360 to be displayed.

[0052] First, the emission amount management unit 311 displays the emission amount registration screen 360 (step S11).

[0053] 9 is a diagram showing an example of an emission amount registration screen 360. The emission amount registration screen 360 has a product name input area 361, a seller input area 362, a type input area 363, a price input area 364, and a greenhouse gas emission amount input area 365. The product name input area 361, the seller input area 362, the type input area 363, the price input area 364, and the greenhouse gas emission amount input area 365 each accept input of the product name, the seller, the type, the price, and the greenhouse gas emission amount. In this example, the product can be identified from the information entered in the product name input area 361.

[0054] 9, the greenhouse gas emission input area 365 accepts input of greenhouse gas emissions for each of a plurality of product life cycle segments. Note that the segments for which the emission management unit 311 accepts input of greenhouse gas emissions are not limited to life cycle segments.

[0055] Returning to Fig. 6 for the explanation, the emission amount management unit 311 then transmits the input information to the emission amount point management device 10 (step S12). After that, the processing unit 310 of the seller terminal device 30 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0056] The emission amount acquisition unit 112 of the emission amount point management device 10, which receives the information input to the emission amount registration screen 360, uses the received information to generate emission amount information 121. That is, when greenhouse gas emissions are input into a format that accepts input of greenhouse gas emissions for each of a plurality of life cycle segments, the emission amount point management device 10 acquires the input information.

[0057] Additionally, the emission amount obtaining unit 112 may standardize the greenhouse gas emission amount of each product when generating the emission amount information 121. For example, the emission amount obtaining unit 112 may standardize the greenhouse gas emission amount by calculating the greenhouse gas emission amount per unit price of the product, or may standardize the greenhouse gas emission amount per unit amount by using the content volume of the product input in an area (not shown) of the emission amount registration screen 360. The calculation standard for standardization is not limited to this example.

[0058] According to this embodiment, greenhouse gas emissions are input using a common format for each product, so fairness in setting greenhouse gas emissions is ensured across a plurality of products.

[0059] In addition, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 of the emission amount point management device 10 may acquire the greenhouse gas emission amount based on the operation of an input device included in the emission amount point management device 10. That is, the emission amount registration screen 360 may be displayed on the emission amount point management device 10. For example, an operator of the emission amount point management service may refer to disclosure information such as sustainability reports published by each seller and input the greenhouse gas emission amount of the product into the emission amount registration screen 360 displayed on the emission amount point management device 10.

[0060] FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the point display process.

[0061] First, the point information request unit 211 of the user terminal device 20 acquires the identification information of the target product S and transmits point request information to the emission amount point management device 10 (step S21). The method by which the point information request unit 211 acquires the identification information of the target product S is not limited. For example, the point information request unit 211 may acquire the identification information by reading a two-dimensional code possessed by the target product S, or may acquire the identification information by accepting the designation of the target product S posted on a website. The point information request unit 211 generates point request information including the identification information of the target product S and transmits it to the emission amount point management device 10.

[0062] Next, the product information acquisition unit 111 of the emission amount point management device 10 acquires the identification information of the target product S included in the point request information transmitted from the user terminal device 20 (step S22).

[0063] Next, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 of the emission amount point management device 10 refers to the emission amount information 121, identifies and transmits the greenhouse gas emission amount and points of the target product S (step S23). Specifically, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 refers to the emission amount information 121, and identifies the greenhouse gas emission amount and points associated with the identification information of the target product S acquired in step S22. The emission amount acquisition unit 112 transmits the identified greenhouse gas emission amount and points to the user terminal device 20 that transmitted the point request information.

[0064] Next, the output unit 240 of the user terminal device 20 displays the greenhouse gas emission amount and the points (step S24). Specifically, the output unit 240 displays the target product information display screen 260 including the greenhouse gas emission amount and the points of the target product S transmitted in step S23. Thereafter, the user terminal device 20 and the emission amount point management device 10 end the processing of this sequence diagram.

[0065] 10 is a diagram showing an example of a target product information display screen 260. The target product information display screen 260 has at least a product name display area 261, a greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262, and a point display area 263. The product name display area 261, the greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262, and the point display area 263 are areas that display the product name, greenhouse gas emission amount, and points of the target product S, respectively. Note that the greenhouse gas emission amount display area 262 may display the greenhouse gas emission amount in each life cycle segment, as shown in FIG. 10, or may display the total greenhouse gas emission amount obtained by adding up the greenhouse gas emissions in each life cycle segment.

[0066] As described above, according to this embodiment, the greenhouse gas emissions amount for the target product S is displayed, which can help user A, who is interested in environmental issues, to increase his / her knowledge about greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since the points awarded when the target product S is purchased are displayed, it is possible to encourage the purchase of products of the same type as the target product S that have higher points, i.e., products with a lower environmental impact, and to promote environmentally conscious consumer behavior.

[0067] 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the ranking presentation process. Before the process of this flowchart starts, the ranking request unit 212 of the user terminal device 20 accepts an input of a type and transmits ranking request information to the emission point management device 10.

[0068] First, the ranking generation unit 114 of the emission amount point management device 10 acquires ranking request information that specifies the type of product (step S31).

[0069] Next, the ranking generation unit 114 generates ranking information that ranks products according to the greenhouse gas emissions of each product type (step S32). Specifically, the ranking generation unit 114 references the emission amount information 121 and generates ranking information that lists a predetermined number of products with low greenhouse gas emissions from among the products of each type included in the ranking request information acquired in step S31. Note that the ranking information is, for example, information that lists products with low greenhouse gas emissions in each life cycle category. However, the ranking information may also be information that lists products with low total greenhouse gas emissions.

[0070] Next, ranking generation unit 114 transmits the ranking information to user terminal device 20 (step S33). After that, processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart. Note that user terminal device 20, which has received the ranking information, displays ranking display screen 270.

[0071] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the ranking display screen 270. The ranking display screen 270 is a screen on which a predetermined number of products with low greenhouse gas emissions are listed. Fig. 11 shows the ranking display screen 270 on which a predetermined number of products with low greenhouse gas emissions are listed for each life cycle category of products of the type "refrigerator."

[0072] According to this embodiment, products that contribute more to environmental protection for each life cycle category can be displayed for the category that User A wishes to view, thereby increasing User A's knowledge of greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging them to take action to reduce emissions.

[0073] In addition, when generating ranking information, the ranking generation unit 114 may refer to the emission amount information 121 and generate ranking information that lists a predetermined number of products with the most points.

[0074] <First Modification>

[0075] Next, the emission amount point management system 1 in the first modification will be described, focusing on the differences from the above-described embodiment.

[0076] The cost of a product tends to increase and greenhouse gas emissions increase when the content volume of the product is large rather than small, or when the container is large rather than small. Also, the price tends to be higher when the cost of a product is high rather than low. From the above, it is expected that there is a correlation between the price of a product and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In this modified example, the emission point management system 1 executes a point setting process that sets points to be awarded to each product based on the correlation between the price of the product and the greenhouse gas emissions.

[0077] 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the point setting process, which is executed after the emission amount registration process of FIG.

[0078] First, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 acquires the type, price, and emission amount of the product to be processed (step S41). Specifically, the emission amount acquisition unit 112 acquires the type, price, and emission amount of the product included in the emission amount information 121 registered before the start of this process.

[0079] Next, the point setting unit 113 acquires a regression line between the price and emissions of the identified type of product (step S42). Specifically, the point setting unit 113 extracts multiple records having the type acquired in step S41 from the records of the emission amount information 121. The point setting unit 113 acquires a regression line (also called a "regression line") that shows the correlation between the price and greenhouse gas emissions when each record is plotted on a scatter plot.

[0080] Next, the point setting unit 113 determines points based on the degree of deviation between the coordinate points of the product to be processed and the regression line (step S43). Specifically, the point setting unit 113 defines coordinate points when the price of the product to be processed and the greenhouse gas emissions acquired in step S41 are plotted on a scatter plot in step S42. The point setting unit 113 calculates the degree of deviation between the defined coordinate points and the regression line acquired in step S42. The point setting unit 113 determines points so that the points become more advantageous as the degree of deviation increases in the direction of lower greenhouse gas emissions. The point setting unit 113 determines points so that the points become more disadvantageous as the degree of deviation increases in the direction of higher greenhouse gas emissions.

[0081] In other words, the point setting unit 113 determines the points so that the more the coordinate point that can be identified from the price of the processing target and the greenhouse gas emission amount deviates from the correlation toward a lower greenhouse gas emission amount, the more advantageous the points will be.The point setting unit 113 determines the points so that the more the coordinate point deviates from the correlation toward a higher greenhouse gas emission amount, the more disadvantageous the points will be.

[0082] Next, the point setting unit 113 stores the point information 122 (step S44). Specifically, the point setting unit 113 associates the points determined in step S43 with information specifying the product to be processed, generates a new record of the point information 122, and stores it in the storage unit 120. Thereafter, the processing unit 110 ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0083] This process may be executed in the point display process shown in Fig. 7. For example, in step S21, when point request information is transmitted from the user terminal device 20, the point setting unit 113 of the emission amount point management device 10 executes point setting process for the target product S. Thereafter, in step S24, the set points may be displayed on the target product information display screen 260.

[0084] As described above, in this modified example, a correlation analysis is performed between the price of a product and greenhouse gas emissions, and points are set using the degree of deviation between the price and greenhouse gas emissions of the product being processed and the correlation results obtained from the correlation analysis. By performing a process to set points in favor of products with low greenhouse gas emissions, points can be set in a way that is more in line with the actual situation than if a staff member of the emissions point management service set points manually. This also reduces the cost required for staff labor.

[0085] The correlation analysis used by the point setting unit 113 to set points is not limited to the analysis based on the price and greenhouse gas emission amount. For example, the point setting unit 113 may perform a correlation analysis between the content volume and greenhouse gas emission amount for products belonging to a common type, and determine the points to be set using the degree of deviation between the correlation result and a coordinate point defined using the content volume and greenhouse gas emission amount of the product to be processed.

[0086] <Second Modification> Next, the emission point management system 1 in the first modified example will be described. The differences from the above-mentioned embodiment will be described below. The emission point management device 10 in this modified example generates a prediction model that predicts the greenhouse gas emission amount, which is the greenhouse gas emission amount predicted from the price of a product.

[0087] 13 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks of the emission amount point management system 1 in the second modified example. The processing unit 110 of the emission amount point management device 10 includes a product information acquisition unit 111, an emission amount acquisition unit 112, a point setting unit 113, a ranking generation unit 114, and a prediction model generation unit 115.

[0088] The prediction model generation unit 115 generates a prediction model that predicts a predicted greenhouse gas emission amount, which is a tentative greenhouse gas emission amount, from the price of the product to be processed, using emission information 121 that associates the price of the product with the greenhouse gas emission amount related to the product. For example, the prediction model generation unit 115 can generate a prediction model using known techniques such as multiple regression analysis, decision tree, logistic regression, and random forest.

[0089] Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the point setting process in the second modified example. The process executed in step S51 is the same as the process executed in step S41 in Fig. 12, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0090] Next, the prediction model generation unit 115 generates a prediction model that predicts the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount from the price of the product in the identified type (step S52). Specifically, the prediction model generation unit 115 references the emission amount information 121 and extracts records of products having the type acquired in step S51. The prediction model generation unit 115 generates a prediction model that predicts the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount from the price, using the price and greenhouse gas emission amount included in the extracted record.

[0091] Next, the point setting unit 113 predicts the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount of the product to be processed (step S53). Specifically, the point setting unit 113 predicts the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount of the product to be processed by using the price of the product to be processed acquired in step S51 for the prediction model generated in step S52.

[0092] Next, the point setting unit 113 determines points based on the difference between the acquired emission amount and the estimated greenhouse gas emission amount (step S54). Specifically, the point setting unit 113 calculates the difference between the greenhouse gas emission amount of the product to be processed acquired in step S51 and the estimated greenhouse gas emission amount estimated in step S54. The point setting unit 113 determines points so that the smaller the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired in step S51 is compared to the estimated greenhouse gas emission amount, the more advantageous the points become.

[0093] The process executed in step S55 is the same as the process executed in step S44 in Fig. 12, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. After that, the processing unit 110 ends the process of this flowchart.

[0094] In this modification, explanatory variables other than the price may be used to predict the predicted greenhouse gas emissions. For example, the content volume of the product, the number of products sold, the type of business of the seller, etc. may be used as explanatory variables.

[0095] As described above, in this modified example, the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount is calculated from the price of the product to be processed, and points are determined based on the difference between the greenhouse gas emission amount of the product to be processed acquired by the emission acquisition unit 112 and the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount. In other words, the smaller the acquired greenhouse gas emission amount is compared to the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount predicted using the explanatory variables, the more advantageous points are set. Therefore, even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by focusing on parts that do not appear as explanatory variables, appropriate points can be set.

[0096] 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.

[0097] Furthermore, the functional configurations of the emission amount point 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 point 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, one component can be classified to perform more processes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 1: Emission point management system, 10: Emission point 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: Product information acquisition unit, 112: Emission amount acquisition unit, 113: Point setting unit, 114: Ranking generation unit, 115: Prediction model generation unit, 120, 220, 320: Storage unit, 121: Emission amount information, 122: Point information, 130, 230, 330: Input unit, 140 ·240·340: Output section, 150·250·350: Communication section, 211: Point information request section, 212: Ranking request section, 260: Target product information display screen, 261: Product name display area, 262: Greenhouse gas emission amount display area, 263: Point display area, 270: Ranking display screen, 311: Emissions management section, 360: Emissions registration screen, 361: Product name input area, 362: Seller input area, 363: Type input area, 364: Price input area, 365: Greenhouse gas emission amount input area, A: User, N: Network, S: Target product

Claims

1. a product information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a target product; an emission amount acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product; An emission point management device characterized by comprising a point setting unit that sets bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product using the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired by the emission acquisition unit.

2. 2. The emission point management device according to claim 1, The emission point management device is characterized in that the point setting unit identifies the type to which the target product belongs and sets the bonus points for the target product so that the product with the lower greenhouse gas emissions among products belonging to the same type is more advantageous.

3. 2. The emission point management device according to claim 1, An emission point management device characterized by comprising a ranking generation unit that, when a product type is specified, generates ranking information for a plurality of products belonging to the type based on the greenhouse gas emissions.

4. 4. The emission point management device according to claim 3, The emission amount point management device is characterized in that the ranking generation unit generates the ranking information for each of a plurality of life cycle segments.

5. 2. The emission point management device according to claim 1, the emission amount acquisition unit acquires the greenhouse gas emission amount input into a predetermined format for each product; 10. An emission point management device, wherein the predetermined format requests input of the greenhouse gas emission amount for each of a plurality of life cycle segments.

6. 2. The emission point management device according to claim 1, The emission point management device is characterized in that the point setting unit performs a correlation analysis between the price of the product and the greenhouse gas emissions, and sets the bonus points using the degree of deviation between the price and the greenhouse gas emissions of the target product and the correlation result obtained from the correlation analysis.

7. 7. The emission point management device according to claim 6, The point setting unit obtains a regression line between the price of the product and the greenhouse gas emissions, and sets the bonus points so that the bonus points become more advantageous as the deviation between the regression line and a coordinate point defined using the price and greenhouse gas emissions of the target product increases in the direction of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

8. 2. The emission point management device according to claim 1, a prediction model generation unit that generates a prediction model that predicts a predicted greenhouse gas emission amount from the price of a product using greenhouse gas emission amount information that associates the price of the product with the greenhouse gas emission amount related to the product; An emission point management device characterized in that the point setting unit sets the bonus points according to the difference between the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired by the emission acquisition unit and the predicted greenhouse gas emission amount predicted by the prediction model using the price of the target product.

9. a product information acquisition step for acquiring identification information of a target product; an emission amount acquisition step for acquiring the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product; An emission point management method, characterized by including a point setting step of setting bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product, using the greenhouse gas emission amount acquired in the emission acquisition step.

10. A program for causing a processing unit of a computer to execute an information processing method, a product information acquisition step for acquiring identification information of a target product; an emission amount acquisition step for acquiring the greenhouse gas emission amount of the target product; A program characterized by executing a point setting procedure that uses the greenhouse gas emissions acquired in the emission acquisition procedure to set bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product.

11. An emission point management system having an emission point management device, a user terminal device, and a seller terminal device, The seller terminal device an emission management unit that receives input of greenhouse gas emissions for the product and transmits the input to the emission point management device; The user terminal device a point information request unit that receives input of identification information of a target product and requests information on bonus points that will be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product; The emission point management device a product information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a target product from the user terminal device; an emission acquisition unit that acquires the greenhouse gas emission effect of the target product; An emissions point management system characterized by comprising a point setting unit that sets bonus points to be awarded in connection with the purchase of the target product using the greenhouse gas emissions acquired by the emissions acquisition unit.

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