'Eco-Challenge' for Eco-friendly Life

Step Change Co. in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, set up in July 2008 the first social community service on its website called "Eco-Challenge." The company manages an online shop for energy-saving products and conducts projects to create environmentally friendly cities and towns. In October 2008, it included an environmental accounting service system, aiming to increase awareness of eco-friendly lifestyles in order to realize a recycling society.

The Eco-Challenge provides participants with tasks each week that lead to more eco-friendly lifestyle choices, for example, "Let's bring our own bottles when going out!" or "Let's turn off lights in unused rooms!" It then awards redeemable points after each task is completed. The environmental accounting service calculates total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by entering data on electricity and natural gas that the users consume every month. The data is then compared with the emissions in previous months or in the same month of the previous year, and ranks the reduction rates.

The Eco-Challenge provides direct approaches to energy savings and CO2 emission reductions, and is characterized by indirect approaches, such as reading books and watching movies on environmental issues and sharing experiences of environmental awareness. It is also available for entering data on carbon-offsets and carbon footprints, which are expected to grow. By competing points and exchanging these points for premiums, the participants enjoy working to improve the environment and to promote CO2 emission reductions and energy savings in households.

At present, about 1,000 people have joined the project. The company plans to improve the program by providing these services through ASP (Application Service Provider) and hopes to spread it to a wider audience.

- CO2 Accounting Service for Households Starts on Tokyo Gas Website (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026365.html

Posted: 2009/02/25 06:00:15 AM