Information processing system
The information processing system addresses the challenge of measuring Scope 3 emissions by calculating and managing greenhouse gas emissions from corporate card purchases, enabling accurate disclosure and reduction strategies.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-04
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-24
AI Technical Summary
Many companies struggle to accurately measure and disclose their Scope 3 emissions, which are more complex and difficult to quantify compared to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in their supply chains, hindering their ability to meet future investment criteria emphasizing greenhouse gas emissions across the entire business process.
An information processing system that utilizes a storage unit for unit emissions data, acquisition units to gather purchase data, and derivation units to calculate and provide greenhouse gas emissions related to corporate card purchases, enabling companies to derive and manage Scope 3 emissions effectively.
The system helps companies accurately derive and disclose their Scope 3 emissions, improving their ability to manage and reduce these emissions, thereby enhancing their investment appeal.
Smart Images
Figure 0007879974000001 
Figure 0007879974000002 
Figure 0007879974000003
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure relates to data processing technology, and particularly to information processing systems.
Background Art
[0002] In recent years, ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) investment, which includes not only the size of a company's profits but also the process (i.e., business) through which those profits are generated, has been emphasized in investment decisions regarding companies (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] In the future, it is considered that the supply chain emissions of each company will be emphasized as an evaluation criterion for investment targets. Supply chain emissions are the total emissions not only of a company (business operator) itself but also of all emissions related to business activities, that is, the emissions of greenhouse gases (hereinafter also referred to as "GHG") generated from the entire series of processes such as raw material procurement, manufacturing, logistics, sales, and disposal.
[0005] Supply chain emissions are the sum of Scope 1 emissions, Scope 2 emissions, and Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 is the direct emissions of GHG by a company (business operator) itself (for example, fuel combustion and industrial processes). Scope 2 is the indirect emissions associated with the use of electricity, heat, and steam supplied by other companies. Scope 3 is the indirect emissions other than Scope 1 and Scope 2, that is, the emissions of other companies related to the activities of a company (business operator).
[0006] In the future, companies will be required to properly disclose their supply chain emissions. However, Scope 3 emissions within the supply chain are more difficult to measure than Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and many companies are currently unable to disclose their Scope 3 emissions.
[0007] This disclosure is based on the inventors' recognition of the above-mentioned problems, and one objective is to provide a technology that helps in the derivation of Scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions. [Means for solving the problem]
[0008] To solve the above problems, an information processing system in one aspect of the present disclosure includes: a storage unit that stores unit emissions, which are greenhouse gas emissions per unit sales amount for each of several credit card merchants; a first acquisition unit that acquires settlement data from a credit card company's equipment relating to the purchase of goods or services using a company's corporate card, which includes information about the merchant that sold the goods or services and the purchase amount; a derivation unit that derives greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase based on the unit emissions for the merchant indicated by the settlement data and the purchase amount indicated by the settlement data stored in the storage unit; and an information provision unit that provides information about greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase to the company.
[0009] Another aspect of this disclosure is also an information processing system. This information processing system includes: a storage unit that stores unit emissions, which are the greenhouse gas emissions per unit purchase amount for each of several goods or services that can be purchased with a company's corporate card; a first acquisition unit that acquires identification information and purchase amounts of goods or services purchased with a corporate card from the equipment of the merchant that sold the goods or services or the equipment of the credit card company; a derivation unit that derives greenhouse gas emissions related to a purchase based on the unit emissions related to the purchased goods or services and the purchase amount of the purchased goods or services stored in the storage unit; and an information provision unit that provides information on greenhouse gas emissions related to a purchase to the company.
[0010] Furthermore, any combination of the above components, or any conversion of the expressions of this disclosure between devices, methods, computer programs, recording media storing computer programs, etc., are also valid forms of this disclosure. [Effects of the Invention]
[0011] This disclosure can help companies derive Scope 3 emissions from their supply chain emissions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0012] [Figure 1(a)] This diagram shows the multiple categories in the Scope 3 criteria defined in the GHG protocol. [Figure 1(b)] This diagram shows the multiple categories in the Scope 3 criteria defined in the GHG protocol. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing the configuration of the information processing system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the structure of payment data. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the information processing device of the first embodiment. [Figure 5]Figure 5(a) shows the structure of the merchant master data, and Figure 5(b) shows the structure of the unit emission master data. [Figure 6] This diagram shows the configuration of an information processing system in a modified example. [Figure 7] This is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of an information processing device in a modified form. [Figure 8] This figure shows the configuration of the information processing system in the second embodiment. [Figure 9] This is a diagram showing the structure of sales data. [Figure 10] This is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the information processing device of the second embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11(a) shows the structure of the product / service master data, and Figure 11(b) shows the structure of the unit emissions master data. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0013] The subject of the apparatus or method in this disclosure comprises a computer. The functions of the subject of the apparatus or method in this disclosure are realized by the computer executing a computer program. The computer comprises a processor as its main hardware component, which operates according to the computer program. The processor is of any type as long as it can realize its functions by executing the computer program. The processor consists of one or more electronic circuits, including semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs, LSIs, etc.). The computer program is recorded on a non-temporary recording medium such as a ROM, optical disc, or hard disk drive that is readable by the computer. The computer program may be pre-stored on the recording medium or may be supplied to the recording medium via a wide-area communication network, including the Internet.
[0014] An overview of the examples will be provided. In the future, it is considered that the supply chain emissions of each company will be emphasized as an evaluation criterion for investment target companies. The supply chain emissions are the sum of Scope 1 emissions, Scope 2 emissions, and Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are more difficult to measure compared to Scope 1 emissions and Scope 2 emissions, and currently, many companies are unable to disclose their Scope 3 emissions. Therefore, in the embodiments, a technique for assisting in deriving Scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions is proposed.
[0015] In the Scope 3 criteria defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), Scope 3 is classified into 15 categories. FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) show a plurality of categories in the Scope 3 criteria defined by the GHG Protocol. The information processing system of the embodiment mainly assists in deriving the GHG emissions of Category 1, Category 6, and Category 7 in the Scope 3 criteria. Category 1, Category 6, and Category 7 can also be said to be GHG emissions due to employee activities and purchases.
[0016] The details of the embodiments will be described. <First Embodiment> FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment. The information processing system 10 of the first embodiment includes a company device 12, a payment terminal 14, a credit card company device 16, and an information processing device 18. These devices are connected via a communication network such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet.
[0017] The company device 12 is an information processing device provided in a company that uses corporate cards. Employees of this company use their company's corporate cards to purchase goods and services from credit card affiliated stores. The corporate card is a credit card used for corporate expense settlement such as business trip expenses and hospitality expenses, and is a credit card with the company's bank account designated as the debit source.
[0018] The payment terminal 14 is a credit card payment terminal installed at a credit card merchant that sells goods or services to a company. The payment terminal 14 may also be a CAT (Credit Authorization Terminal) or a CCT (Credit Center Terminal). The merchant is a retail store, etc., that has entered into a merchant agreement with a credit card company. The credit card company device 16 is an information processing device installed at the credit card company.
[0019] When goods or services are purchased using a corporate card, the merchant's payment terminal 14 transmits the payment data related to the purchase to the credit card company device 16. The credit card company device 16 stores the payment data transmitted from the payment terminal 14 and performs payment processing based on the payment data. If the merchant is a mail-order business, the merchant's server that provides mail-order services to the corporate device 12 may transmit the payment data related to the purchase to the credit card company device 16. The information processing device 18 provides companies with a service to derive GHG emissions related to the purchase of goods or services based on the payment data provided by the credit card company device 16.
[0020] Figure 3 shows the structure of payment data. The payment data includes multiple fields: payment ID, date and time, user, card number, merchant ID, and purchase amount. The "payment ID" field is unique to each payment. The payment ID can also be considered unique to each transaction of goods or services. The "date and time" field records the date and time when the goods or services were purchased.
[0021] The "User" field contains the identification information of the user (the company in Figure 1) who purchased goods or services using the corporate card. The "Card Number" field contains the credit card number of the corporate card used for the purchase. The "Merchant ID" field contains a unique ID for each merchant. The "Purchase Amount" field contains the purchase amount of the goods or services.
[0022] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the information processing device 18 of the first embodiment. Each block shown in the block diagrams of this specification can be realized in hardware terms by elements such as a computer processor, CPU, and memory, as well as electronic circuits and mechanical devices, and in software terms by computer programs, etc. However, here we are depicting functional blocks that are realized through the cooperation of these elements. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various ways by combinations of hardware and software. The functions of the multiple blocks shown in Figure 4 may be implemented in a single computer, or they may be distributed and implemented across multiple computers.
[0023] The information processing device 18 comprises a control unit 20, a storage unit 22, and a communication unit 24. The control unit 20 performs various data processing. The storage unit 22 stores data that is referenced or updated by the control unit 20. The communication unit 24 communicates with external devices according to a predetermined communication protocol. The control unit 20 sends and receives data with the corporate device 12 and the credit card company device 16 via the communication unit 24.
[0024] The storage unit 22 includes a master data storage unit 26. The master data storage unit 26 stores unit emissions, which are the GHG emissions per unit sales amount for each merchant, for multiple credit card merchants. The unit emissions may be data such as, for example, GHG emissions of 10g / yen.
[0025] Specifically, the master data storage unit 26 stores the merchant master data and the unit emission master data. Figure 5(a) shows the structure of the merchant master data. The merchant master data is data that associates the IDs of multiple merchants with the identification information of the sector (in other words, industry) to which each merchant belongs. The merchant sector may be, for example, an airline, a railway, a consumer electronics retailer, etc.
[0026] Figure 5(b) shows the structure of the unit emission master data. The unit emission master data is data that associates multiple member store sectors with the unit GHG emissions in each member store sector. The unit emission for each member store sector may be derived by dividing the average of the GHG emissions published by multiple member stores belonging to each member store sector by the average of the sales of those multiple member stores.
[0027] Returning to Figure 4, the control unit 20 includes a settlement data acquisition unit 30, an emissions output unit 32, and an information provision unit 34. A computer program implementing the functions of these multiple functional blocks may be stored on a recording medium and installed on the storage of the information processing device 18 via that recording medium. Alternatively, the computer program may be downloaded via a communication network and installed on the storage of the information processing device 18. The CPU of the information processing device 18 may perform the functions of the multiple blocks by reading the computer program into main memory and executing it.
[0028] The settlement data acquisition unit 30, as the first acquisition unit, acquires settlement data from the credit card company device 16 related to the purchase of goods or services using a company's corporate card. As previously described in relation to Figure 3, the settlement data includes information about the merchant that sold the goods or services and the purchase amount of the goods or services.
[0029] The emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions related to the company's purchases based on the unit emissions for the merchant indicated by the payment data and the purchase amount indicated by the payment data, which are stored in the master data storage unit 26. The information provision unit 34 provides the information regarding the company's GHG emissions related to its purchases (hereinafter also referred to as "GHG emissions information") calculated by the emissions calculation unit 32 to the company device 12.
[0030] The operation of the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment, configured as described above, will be explained with reference to Figure 2. Employees of a company use their company's corporate card to purchase goods or services sold by a merchant. The merchant's payment terminal 14 transmits the payment data related to the purchase to the credit card company device 16. The credit card company device 16 stores the payment data transmitted from the payment terminal 14. The payment data acquisition unit 30 of the information processing device 18 accesses the credit card company device 16 at a predetermined GHG emissions derivation timing and acquires the payment data related to the company's purchases. For example, the payment data acquisition unit 30 may periodically acquire one or more payment data related to purchases in a given month from the credit card company device 16 once a month.
[0031] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 refers to the merchant master data in the master data storage unit 26 and identifies the merchant sector associated with the merchant ID (also referred to here as the "target merchant") indicated by the payment data acquisition unit 30. The emissions derivation unit 32 refers to the unit emissions master data in the master data storage unit 26 and identifies the unit emissions associated with the identified merchant sector as the unit emissions of the target merchant. The emissions derivation unit 32 calculates the result of adding the unit emissions of the target merchant and the purchase amount indicated by the payment data and derives the GHG emissions related to the purchase indicated by the payment data.
[0032] When the payment data acquisition unit 30 acquires multiple payment data for multiple purchases in a given month, the emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions for each payment data. The emissions calculation unit 32 then sums up the GHG emissions for each payment data and calculates the total value as the total GHG emissions generated by all purchasing activities in that month. The GHG emissions may be expressed as a value such as "○○t (tons)".
[0033] The information provision unit 34 of the information processing device 18 transmits GHG emission information, which shows the GHG emissions derived by the emissions derivation unit 32 as GHG emissions based on the Scope 3 standard in the GHG protocol, to the corporate device 12. According to the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment, it is possible to help derive Scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions based on the actual purchase history of goods or services using the company's corporate card. For example, it can help companies understand and disclose their own Scope 3 emissions.
[0034] The present disclosure has been explained above based on the first embodiment. The contents described in the first embodiment are illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in combination of the components and processing processes of the first embodiment, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0035] Modifications 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 relating to the first embodiment will be described. Variation 1-1: In the first embodiment, the unit emission amount of GHG was determined for each member store sector (in other words, industry), but as a modification, the unit emission amount of GHG may be determined for each member store for at least some of the member stores among multiple member stores. In this case, the master data storage unit 26 of the information processing device 18 stores the unit emission amount for each member store sector, and further stores the unit emission amount of at least some member stores themselves. For example, the member store master data in the master data storage unit 26 may record the member store sector in association with the member store ID, and optionally the unit emission amount of the member store itself. The unit emission amount of a member store itself may be derived by dividing the GHG emission amount published by the member store by the sales revenue of that member store.
[0036] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 may, for a merchant indicated by payment data, use the merchant's own unit emissions to derive the GHG emissions related to the purchase indicated by payment data if the merchant's own unit emissions are recorded in the merchant master data. On the other hand, if the merchant indicated by payment data does not have its own unit emissions recorded in the merchant master data, the emissions derivation unit 32 may, as described in the first embodiment, use the unit emissions of the merchant sector to which the merchant belongs to derive the GHG emissions related to the purchase indicated by payment data. According to this embodiment, scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions can be derived with greater accuracy. Furthermore, merchants can be given an incentive to reduce their GHG emissions in order to be selected by the company.
[0037] Variation 1-2: Figure 6 shows the configuration of the modified information processing system 10. In this modified information processing system 10, based on accounting data held by companies using corporate cards, greenhouse gas emissions related to purchases are classified into one of several categories under the Scope 3 criteria defined by the GHG Protocol.
[0038] Figure 7 is a block diagram showing the functional blocks of the modified information processing device 18. In addition to the functional blocks shown in Figure 4, the modified information processing device 18 further includes an accounting data acquisition unit 38. The accounting data acquisition unit 38, as a second acquisition unit, acquires corporate accounting data (e.g., management accounting data) related to the purchase of goods or services using a corporate card from the corporate device 12 (e.g., the corporate accounting system).
[0039] For example, the accounting data acquisition unit 38 extracts data from the payment data that can uniquely identify the purchase of goods or services using the corporate card (e.g., a combination of payment ID, date and time, card number, merchant ID, and purchase amount). The accounting data acquisition unit 38 may use the extracted data as a key to request and acquire accounting data related to the purchase identified by the extracted data from the corporate device 12. The accounting data shall include account names related to the purchase of goods or services using the corporate card (e.g., travel expenses, commuting allowance, tools and equipment, etc.).
[0040] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 classifies the GHG emissions related to purchases into one of several categories (15 categories shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b)) within the Scope 3 criteria defined by the GHG Protocol, based on the accounting data acquired by the accounting data acquisition unit 38. Specifically, the emissions derivation unit 32 classifies the GHG emissions related to a purchase indicated by certain settlement data into one of the Scope 3 criteria based on the account name indicated by the accounting data related to that purchase.
[0041] For example, if the account name is "Travel Expenses," GHG emissions related to purchases may be classified as Category 6 (Business Trips). Also, if the account name is "Commuting Allowance," GHG emissions related to purchases may be classified as Category 7 (Employee Commuting). Furthermore, if the account name is neither "Travel Expenses" nor "Commuting Allowance," GHG emissions related to purchases may be classified as Category 1 (Purchased Products and Services).
[0042] The information provision unit 34 of the information processing device 18 transmits GHG emission information to the enterprise device 12, which associates the GHG emissions related to purchases derived by the emissions derivation unit 32 with a specific category of Scope 3 criteria classified by the emissions derivation unit 32. According to this modified information processing system 10, the category of Scope 3 criteria to which the GHG emissions related to purchases belong can be presented to the enterprise, thereby more effectively supporting the management of GHG emissions within the enterprise.
[0043] Furthermore, if the emissions calculation unit 32 has calculated GHG emissions based on each of the multiple payment data sets, it may sum the GHG emissions based on each of the multiple payment data sets by category. For example, the emissions calculation unit 32 may calculate the total GHG emissions for each of the Scope 3 categories 1, 6, and 7. The information provision unit 34 may transmit GHG emissions information showing the total GHG emissions for each of the Scope 3 categories 1, 6, and 7 to the enterprise device 12.
[0044] Variation 1-3: The master data storage unit 26 of the information processing device 18 may store Scope 3 criteria categories on a store-by-store basis and / or Scope 3 criteria categories on a store-by-store sector basis. When the emissions extraction unit 32 extracts GHG emissions related to a purchase at a store, if a specific Scope 3 criterion category on a store-by-store basis is associated with that store, the extracted GHG emissions may be classified into the specific Scope 3 criterion category associated with that store. On the other hand, when the emissions extraction unit 32 extracts GHG emissions related to a purchase at a store, if a specific Scope 3 criterion category on a store-by-store basis is not associated with that store, the emissions extraction unit 32 may be classified into the specific Scope 3 criterion category associated with the store-by-store sector to which the store belongs. The information processing system 10 of this modified example also produces the same effects as the modified example 1-2 described above.
[0045] <Second Example> The second embodiment of this disclosure will be described focusing on the differences from the first embodiment, and the description of common points will be omitted. It goes without saying that the features of the second embodiment can be combined with any combination of the features of the first embodiment and the features of modified examples. Components of the second embodiment that are the same as or corresponding to the components of the first embodiment will be appropriately denoted by the same reference numerals in the description.
[0046] Figure 8 shows the configuration of the information processing system 10 of the second embodiment. The information processing system 10 of the second embodiment includes a merchant device 15 in addition to the configuration of the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment. The merchant device 15 stores data (hereinafter also referred to as "sales data") relating to goods or services sold by merchants to companies and paid for using the companies' corporate cards.
[0047] Figure 9 shows the structure of sales data. Sales data includes a payment ID, which is also included in payment data, and information about the goods or services sold (hereinafter also referred to as "product information" or "service information"). Product information includes identification information for goods purchased using the corporate card, and service information includes identification information for services purchased using the corporate card.
[0048] Figure 10 shows the functional blocks of the information processing device 18 of the second embodiment. In addition to the functional blocks of the information processing device 18 of the first embodiment, the information processing device 18 of the second embodiment further includes a sales data acquisition unit 36.
[0049] The master data storage unit 26 stores the unit emissions, which are the GHG emissions per unit purchase amount for each product or service, for multiple products or services that can be purchased using a company's corporate card.
[0050] Specifically, the master data storage unit 26 stores product / service master data and unit emission master data. Figure 11(a) shows the structure of the product / service master data. The product / service master data is data that associates identification information of multiple products with the product category to which each product belongs (writing instruments, PCs, books, etc.). The product / service master data is also data that associates identification information of multiple services with the service category to which each service belongs (rail transport services, air transport services, delivery services, etc.).
[0051] Figure 11(b) shows the structure of the unit emission master data. The unit emission master data is data that associates multiple product categories and service categories with the unit emissions of GHGs in each category. The unit emissions of GHGs in each category may be set to values published by a designated organization or institution (e.g., a government agency). For example, the values shown in the "Emission Intensity Database for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Organizations Through Supply Chains" published by the Ministry of the Environment may be set.
[0052] Returning to Figure 10, the settlement data acquisition unit 30 and the sales data acquisition unit 36, as first acquisition units, acquire identification information and purchase amount of goods or services purchased with a corporate card from the equipment of the merchant that sold the goods or services or the equipment of the credit card company.
[0053] The emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions related to the purchase based on the unit emissions for the purchased goods or services and the purchase price of the purchased goods or services, which are stored in the master data storage unit 26. The information provision unit 34 provides information regarding the GHG emissions related to the purchase to the enterprise equipment 12.
[0054] The operation of the information processing system 10 of the second embodiment, based on the above configuration, will be explained with reference to Figure 8. The payment data acquisition unit 30 of the information processing device 18 acquires payment data, including the payment ID and purchase amount, from the credit card company device 16, similar to the first embodiment. The sales data acquisition unit 36 of the information processing device 18 uses the payment ID indicated by the payment data as a key to acquire sales data, including product information or service information associated with that payment ID, from the merchant device 15.
[0055] In the second embodiment, the purchase price of the goods or services is extracted from the settlement data obtained from the credit card company device 16, while the identification information of the purchased goods or services is extracted from the sales information obtained from the merchant device 15. As a variation, if both the identification information of the purchased goods or services and the purchase price are included in the settlement data, both the identification information of the purchased goods or services and the purchase price may be extracted from the settlement data. Alternatively, if both the identification information of the purchased goods or services and the purchase price are included in the sales data, both the identification information of the purchased goods or services and the purchase price may be extracted from the sales data.
[0056] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 refers to the product / service master data in the master data storage unit 26 to identify the product category or service category associated with the product information or service information indicated by the sales information. The emissions derivation unit 32 refers to the unit emissions master data in the master data storage unit 26 to identify the unit emissions associated with the identified product category or service category. The emissions derivation unit 32 calculates the result of summing the identified unit emissions with the purchase amount indicated by the settlement data and derives the GHG emissions related to the purchase indicated by the settlement data.
[0057] The information provision unit 34 of the information processing device 18 transmits GHG emission information to the enterprise device 12, similar to the first embodiment, which shows the GHG emissions derived by the emissions derivation unit 32 as GHG emissions based on the Scope 3 standard in the GHG protocol. The information processing system 10 of the second embodiment, similar to the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment, can help derive Scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions based on the company's purchase history of goods or services. Furthermore, the information processing system 10 of the second embodiment uses the unit emissions of GHG corresponding to the purchased goods or services, thereby further improving the accuracy of GHG emission estimation.
[0058] The present disclosure has been explained above based on the second embodiment. The contents described in the second embodiment are illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of components and processing processes of the second embodiment, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0059] Modifications 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 relating to the second embodiment will be described. Variation 2-1: In the second embodiment, the unit emission amount of GHG was defined per product category or per service category. However, as a modification, for at least some of the products or services among a group of products or services, the unit emission amount of GHG may be defined per product or service. In this case, the master data storage unit 26 of the information processing device 18 stores the unit emission amount for each product category or service category, and further stores the unit emission amount of the product or service itself for at least some of the products or services.
[0060] For example, the product / service master data in the master data storage unit 26 may record product categories associated with product information, and optionally, the unit emissions of the product itself. The product / service master data in the master data storage unit 26 may also record service categories associated with service information, and optionally, the unit emissions of the service itself. The master data storage unit 26 may record the unit emissions of the product or service as published by the merchant, product manufacturer, or service provider (or the GHG emissions of the product or service divided by the price of the product or service).
[0061] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 may derive the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the unit emissions of the purchased goods or services themselves, if those goods or services are stored in the master data storage unit 26. On the other hand, if the unit emissions of the purchased goods or services themselves are not stored in the master data storage unit 26, the emissions derivation unit 32 may derive the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the unit emissions of the category of goods or services, as described in the second embodiment. This embodiment allows for more accurate derivation of scope 3 emissions in a company's supply chain emissions. It also provides an incentive for manufacturers of goods and providers of services to reduce their GHG emissions in order to be chosen by the company.
[0062] Variation 2-2: Similar to the modified examples 1-2 above, the information processing system 10 in this modified example classifies greenhouse gas emissions related to purchases into one of several categories within the Scope 3 criteria defined by the GHG Protocol, based on accounting data held by the corporate card user company.
[0063] In this modified example, the information processing device 18 further includes the accounting data acquisition unit 38 shown in Figure 7, in addition to the functional blocks shown in Figure 10. The accounting data acquisition unit 38, as a second acquisition unit, acquires corporate accounting data (e.g., management accounting data) related to the purchase of goods or services using a corporate card from the corporate device 12 (e.g., the corporate accounting system).
[0064] The emissions derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 classifies the GHG emissions related to purchases into one of several categories (15 categories shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b)) within the Scope 3 criteria defined by the GHG Protocol, based on the accounting data acquired by the accounting data acquisition unit 38. Specifically, the emissions derivation unit 32 classifies the GHG emissions related to a purchase indicated by certain settlement data into one of the Scope 3 criteria based on the account name indicated by the accounting data related to that purchase.
[0065] The information provision unit 34 of the information processing device 18 transmits GHG emission information to the enterprise device 12, which associates the GHG emissions related to purchases derived by the emissions derivation unit 32 with a specific category of Scope 3 criteria classified by the emissions derivation unit 32. According to the information processing system 10 of this modified example, similar to the modified example 1-2 above, the category of Scope 3 criteria to which the GHG emissions related to purchases belong can be presented to the enterprise, thereby more effectively supporting the management of GHG emissions within the enterprise.
[0066] Variation 2-3: The master data storage unit 26 of the information processing device 18 may store Scope 3 criteria categories at the product / service level, and / or Scope 3 criteria categories at the product category / service category level. When the emissions extraction unit 32 extracts GHG emissions related to the purchase of a certain product / service, if a specific Scope 3 criterion category at the product / service level is associated with the product / service, the extracted GHG emissions may be classified into the specific Scope 3 criterion category associated with the product / service. On the other hand, when the emissions extraction unit 32 extracts GHG emissions related to the purchase of a certain product / service, if a specific Scope 3 criterion category at the product / service level is not associated with the product / service, the extracted GHG emissions may be classified into the specific Scope 3 criterion category at the product category / service category level to which the product / service belongs. The information processing system 10 of this modified example also produces the same effects as the modified example 2-2 described above.
[0067] Variation 3-1: This modified example relates to a combination of the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment and the information processing system 10 of the second embodiment. The information processing device 18 of this modified example includes a master data storage unit 26, a settlement data acquisition unit 30, an emissions calculation unit 32, an information provision unit 34, a sales data acquisition unit 36, and an accounting data acquisition unit 38.
[0068] If the category of the purchased goods or services can be identified, for example, if the product information indicated in the sales data is associated with a specific product category in the product / service master data, the emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the unit emissions corresponding to the identified product or service category. On the other hand, if the category of the purchased goods or services cannot be identified, for example, if the product information indicated in the sales data is not recorded in the product / service master data, the emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the unit emissions corresponding to the merchant indicated in the payment data.
[0069] According to this modified example, even if unit emissions cannot be identified based on the purchased goods or services, unit emissions can be identified based on the merchant that sold the goods or services, and the GHG emissions related to the purchase can be derived without omission. In addition, in modified example 3-1, the emissions derivation unit 32 may also use the company's accounting data obtained from the company equipment 12 to classify the GHG emissions related to the purchase into one of the Scope 3 categories.
[0070] Variation 3-2: This modified example relates to a combination of Modification 1-1 relating to the first embodiment and Modification 2-1 relating to the second embodiment. The information processing device 18 in this modified example includes a master data storage unit 26, a settlement data acquisition unit 30, an emissions calculation unit 32, an information provision unit 34, a sales data acquisition unit 36, and an accounting data acquisition unit 38.
[0071] The discharge output unit 32 executes one of the following processes 1 to 4 in the order of priority from process 1 to process 4. If a higher-level process is executed, the lower-level process is skipped. (Process 1) If the purchased goods or services themselves have a defined unit emission amount, the emission calculation unit 32 uses the unit emission amount of the goods or services themselves to calculate the GHG emissions related to the purchase. (Processing 2) If the purchased goods or services themselves do not have a defined unit emission amount, but the category of the purchased goods or services can be identified, the emission calculation unit 32 derives the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the unit emission amount corresponding to the identified category of goods or services.
[0072] (Processing 3) If the category of the purchased goods or services cannot be identified and the merchant's own unit emissions are defined as indicated by the payment data, the emissions calculation unit 32 calculates the GHG emissions related to the purchase using the merchant's own unit emissions. (Processing 4) If the category of the purchased goods or services cannot be identified and the unit emissions of the merchant itself, as indicated by the payment data, are not defined, the emissions calculation unit 32 uses the unit emissions of the merchant sector to which the merchant belongs to to calculate the GHG emissions related to the purchase.
[0073] According to this modified version, the accuracy of deriving GHG emissions related to purchases can be improved as much as possible, depending on the disclosure status of GHG emissions related to the purchased goods or services or the merchant. In modified version 3-2, the emissions derivation unit 32 may also classify the GHG emissions related to purchases into one of the Scope 3 categories using the company's accounting data obtained from the company equipment 12.
[0074] Variation 3-3: Modifications applicable to both the information processing system 10 of the first embodiment and the information processing system 10 of the second embodiment will be described. The information processing system 10 may be connected to the equipment of a carbon credit company via a communication network. The control unit 20 of the information processing device 18 may further include an offset unit. The offset unit may work in conjunction with the equipment of the carbon credit company to perform offset processing of the GHG emissions related to the purchase derived by the emissions derivation unit 32. The offset processing may be a process of executing a transaction in which carbon credits equivalent to the GHG emissions related to the purchase are obtained from the carbon credit company by paying an offset fee to the carbon credit company. The offset fee may be paid later by the company to the organization that maintains the information processing device 18. According to this embodiment, the company can reduce the GHG emissions related to the purchase to zero by using the services of the information processing device 18.
[0075] Variation 4: The examples so far have described how to derive a company's GHG emissions from settlement data. However, in reality, environmental problems arise not only from climate change caused by GHG emissions, but also from the overconsumption of all kinds of natural resources (e.g., plants, animals, air, water, soil, minerals, etc.). Therefore, there is a growing need to understand, manage, and disclose the consumption of natural resources as "natural capital." Since some of these are consumed in all economic activities, it is possible to understand them starting from settlement data, similar to GHGs. For example, only about 0.01% of the Earth's water is freshwater that humans can use, and there are concerns about the depletion of freshwater resources due to increased usage. On the other hand, the amount of water used in the production processes of various foods, industrial products, and daily necessities can be understood as a "water footprint." It is also possible to quantify the amount of water resources required when the same goods as those imported by a country are settled domestically as "virtual water."
[0076] For example, given the background described above, when understanding, managing, and disclosing the amount of water resources used in economic activities in a specific region, the master data storage unit 26 of the information processing device 18 may store the amount of water resources used per product / service and / or per product / service category. The discharge amount derivation unit 32 of the information processing device 18 may then derive the amount of water resources used for the purchase indicated by the payment data as the sum of the amount of water resources used per unit and the purchase amount indicated by the payment data.
[0077] Any combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present disclosure. The new embodiments resulting from such combinations will possess the combined effects of the respective embodiments and modifications. Furthermore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the functions to be performed by each component described in the claims can be achieved by each component shown in the embodiments and modifications individually or in combination thereof. [Explanation of symbols]
[0078] 10 Information processing system, 12 Corporate equipment, 14 Payment terminal, 15 Merchant equipment, 16 Credit card company equipment, 18 Information processing device, 26 Master data storage unit, 30 Payment data acquisition unit, 32 Emissions calculation unit, 34 Information provision unit, 36 Sales data acquisition unit, 38 Accounting data acquisition unit.
Claims
1. A memory unit that stores the unit emissions, which is the greenhouse gas emissions per unit sales amount for each merchant, for multiple credit card merchants, A first acquisition unit acquires settlement data from a credit card company's equipment relating to the purchase of goods or services using a company's corporate card, which includes information about the merchant that sold the goods or services and the purchase amount. A second acquisition unit acquires accounting data of the company relating to the purchase of goods or services using the corporate card from the company's equipment. A derivation unit that derives greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase based on the unit emissions for the merchant indicated by the payment data and the purchase amount indicated by the payment data, which are stored in the memory unit, An offset unit that performs offset processing of greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase in cooperation with equipment of a carbon credit company connected via a communication network, Information Provision Department, Equipped with, The aforementioned accounting data includes account names, The derivation unit classifies the greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase into one of several categories within the Scope 3 criteria defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, based on the account names indicated by the accounting data acquired by the second acquisition unit. The information provision unit provides the company's equipment with information regarding greenhouse gas emissions for each of the multiple categories under the Scope 3 standard. Information processing system.
2. A storage unit that stores the unit emissions, which are the greenhouse gas emissions per unit purchase amount for each of several goods or services that can be purchased using a company's corporate card, A first acquisition unit acquires identification information and purchase amount of goods or services purchased using the aforementioned corporate card from the equipment of the merchant that sold the goods or services or the equipment of the credit card company. A second acquisition unit acquires accounting data of the company relating to the purchase of goods or services using the corporate card from the company's equipment. A derivation unit that derives greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase based on the unit emissions related to the purchased goods or services and the purchase price of the purchased goods or services stored in the memory unit, An offset unit that performs offset processing of greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase in cooperation with equipment of a carbon credit company connected via a communication network, Information Provision Department, Equipped with, The aforementioned accounting data includes account names, The derivation unit classifies the greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase into one of several categories within the Scope 3 criteria defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, based on the account names indicated by the accounting data acquired by the second acquisition unit. The information provision unit provides the company's equipment with information regarding greenhouse gas emissions for each of the multiple categories under the Scope 3 standard. Information processing system.
3. The offset process is a process of executing a transaction in which carbon credits equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions related to the purchase are obtained from the carbon credit company by paying an offset fee to the carbon credit company. The information processing system according to claim 1 or 2.