The initiative will initially focus on the power-hungry consumer eleconics industry, which is expected to produce around 14% of global emissions by 2040, up from around 3% today. As well as the energy demand from the usage of electronic devices, their production and disposal have a significant environmental impact.

According to the Q3 2022 Klarna Shopping Pulse, 62% of US shoppers say that sustainability when shopping for electronics is important to them. The study showed that over two thirds of consumers think it’s important that the brands they buy actively combat climate change and use recycled or sustainable materials in their products.

Using data supplied by Clarity AI, Klarna will provide shoppers with an overview of sustainability information in the form of ‘brand badges’, indicating whether a company has lower greenhouse gas emissions than similar businesses, whether they derive a higher proportion of its energy from renewable sources, has climate change policies, and whether or not a company is transparent in its reporting of climate-related information.

Salah Said, head of sustainability at Klarna, says: “In 2021, Klarna introduced the CO2e emissions tracker, which brought to life one of the largest awareness efforts on carbon footprints ever made. Now, we are taking it one step further by providing Klarna’s more than 150 million shoppers with reliable and transparent metrics for electronics brands, helping shoppers to not only understand the impact of their purchases but also to make more environmentally conscious decisions going forward. Together, Klarna and Clarity AI are empowering consumers to ‘vote with their wallet’ for a more sustainable world,”