Conversion of financial transactions to footprint

Get footprint in kilograms of CO2-equivalents for financial transactions by category

All inputs, outputs and defaults can be seen in the Convert finance technical API docs.

Inputs

This endpoint receives:

  • a data source to base calculations on
  • a list of financial categories, associated with a value of money spent and unit of currency 
  • optionally: the date for which the footprint should be computed

At least one category must be provided. Value and unit of currency is optional; we accept all major currencies as input If you have not submitted a value, you will receive the footprint of 1 unit of the given currency, for the selected data source. The date the financial transaction took place is also optional input. If no date is given, the current date is taken as default.

 

dataSource

Valid input unit of currency

norway

NOK

japan (planned)

JPY (planned)

united_kingdom (planned)

GBP (planned)

finland

EUR

sweden

SEK

denmark

DKK

Outputs

This endpoint returns, for each category:

  • footprint in kilos of CO2e, rounded to grams

Categories

The table below details the categories accepted by the Convert Finance endpoint. The “Lvl” field refers to the level in Ducky’s category hierarchy. Only level 2 and 3 categories are available in Convert Finance, as higher level categories do not provide useful enough detail. The field “COICOP identifier” is the code for the corresponding Classification Of Individual Consumption By Purpose (COICOP) category; if you are unsure what category a purchase belongs in, you may refer to the COICOP documentation to look for a suitable match. All COICOP level 2 categories are covered, while level 3 categories have been added in areas that benefit from a higher level of detail. This applies to e.g. passengerTransportServices - since different modes of transport have very different footprints, we have further subdivided this category into transportRailway, transportRoad, transportAir and transportWater. Additionally, we provide a suggested mapping of Ducky’s categories to merchant category codes (MCC) categories upon request.

Ducky currently supports two different versions of the COICOP system, 1999 and 2018. Users can choose categories from either or both revisions, but are advised that the 2018 will produce more up-to-date results. The table below shows which categories are available in which version.

 

Category name

1999 

2018 

Lvl

COICOP identifier (2018)

Description

food

x

x

2

011

Food and edibles purchased for consumption at home

nonAlcoholicBeverages

x

x

2

012

juices, water, soft drinks, coffee, tea

foodProductionServices

n/a

x

2

013

Services for processing primary goods for food and non-alcoholic beverages

alcoholicBeverages

x

x

2

021

beer, wine, spirits and liquor

alcoholProductionServices

n/a

x

2

022

Services related to producing alcohol in households

tobacco

x

x

2

023

cigarettes, cigars, other tobacco products, other narcotics

narcotics

n/a

x

2

024

All narcotics, natural and synthetic

clothing

x

x

2

031

clothing materials, garments, and tailoring, repair and cleaning services

footwear

x

x

2

032

footwear and repair and cleaning services

actualRentals

x

x

2

041

payment for rental of land, residences both primary and secondary, and connected parking spaces

imputedRentals

x

x

2

042

the economic value in rental equivalent of dwellings that are owned by their residents. Not the same as e.g. mortgage

homeMaintenance

x

x

2

043

materials for regular home maintenance such as paints, plumbing items & fire extinguishers, security equipment, and services related to regular maintenance

homeServices

x

x

2

044

water supply, garbage, sewage collection and similar services

waterSupply

x

x

 

0441

Water supply

refuseCollection

x

x

 

0442

Refuse collection and disposal

energy

x

x

2

045

electricity, gas and other fuels

energyElectricity

x

x

3

0451

electricity from all sources

energySolidFuels

x

x

3

0454

solid fuels such as firewood, coal, etc

furniture

x

x

2

051

furniture including garden furnitures, furnishings such as light, loose objects such as carpets, art and clocks, and repair and installation of such items

textiles

x

x

2

052

household textiles such as curtains, bedding, towels, doormats; repair of such items

appliances

x

x

2

053

major household appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, ovens, vacuum cleaners and air-conditioners, and repair and installation of such items

tableware

x

x

2

054

glassware, cutlery, flatware, silverware, kitchen utensils and other small household items; repair of such items

houseAndGarden

x

x

2

055

motorised tools like drills and lawn mowers, small hand tools for house and garden, and repair of such items

householdMaintenance

x

x

2

056

expendendable household goods like soaps and polishes, cleaning implements, napkins, and disposable kitchen goods; glue and tape

medicalSupplies

x

x

2

061

medicines, vaccines, medical devices, and other medical products including assistive products like hearing aids or crutches; repair and maintenance of such items

outpatientServices

x

x

2

062

all medical services that don't require an overnight stay, including dental work and long term assistive care

inpatientServices

n/a

x

2

063

all medical services that require an overnight hospital stay

healthServices

As hospitalServices

x

2

064

diagnostic imaging services and medical laboratory services;

patient emergency transportation services and emergency rescue.

vehiclePurchase

x

x

2

071

purchase of vehicles for transport including cars, motorcycles, bicycles and animal-drawn vehicles

operationOfTransportEquipment

x

x

2

072

parts and accessories for personal transport equipment such as tires, inner tubes, batteries, helmets, GPS, roof boxes, etc

fuelsForTransport

x

x

3

0722

petrol (gasoline), diesel, liquid petroleum gas, lubricants; electricity as a fuel when separately priced from other electricity

maintenanceOfTransportEquipment

x

x

3

0723

services related to maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment; includes parking & tolls

passengerTransportServices

As tranportServices

x

2

073

all transport services public and private

transportRailway

x

x

3

0731

passenger transport by railway, rapid transit or tram

transportRoad

x

x

3

0732

passenger transport by road, including buses (regular routes, charter and school buses), taxis or hired cars, tuk-tuks, motorcycle taxis

transportAir

x

x

3

0733

passenger transport by air, any distance

transportWater

x

x

3

0734

passenger transport by water, including ships, boats, ferries, hovercraft, hydrofoils and water taxis

goodsTransportServices

As postalServices

x

2

074

stamps, courier services, parcel delivery, delivery of goods

itEquipment

As computerEquipment

x

2

081

Telephones, laptops, computers, printers, and other communication equipment 

software

n/a

x

2

082

Software excluding games

audiovisualEquipment

x

n/a

2

n/a TV, cameras, recorded media like CDs, software

itServices

As telephoneServices

x

2

083

installation and subscription costs or fees for internet and phones; subscriptions to streaming services or TV

recreationalGoods

x

x

2

091

Items such as cameras; camper vans, boats, horses, golf carts, billiard and ping pong tables

sportingGoods

x

x

2

092

equipment for sport, camping and open-air recreation; games and toys

gamesGardensAndPets

x

x

2

093

Garden products; pet and pet products

recreationalServices

x

x

2

094

rental, maintenance and repair of recreational items, as well as veterinary services, tickets to sporting event, fairgrounds or theatre, and membership fees to recreational services; gambling

culturalGoods

n/a

x

2

095

Musical instruments and media like CDs or tapes

culturalServices

n/a

x

2

096

Cinemas, theatres, museums, photographers; repair of cultural goods

newspapersAndBooks

x

x

2

097

all kinds of books in physical and electronic form, recorded tapes/CDs/DVDs, newspaper and other periodicals, stationary and misc printed matter like brochures

packageHolidays

x

x

2

098

all-inclusive holidays or tours

preAndPrimarySchool

x

x

2

101

kindergarten and primary education

secondarySchool

x

x

2

102

secondary education

vocationalSchool

x

x

2

103

post-secondary non-tertiary education; preparation for labour market entry

universityAndCollege

x

x

2

104

higher education such as universities or colleges

otherEducation

x

x

2

105

education not defined by level such as language courses or tutoring and driving lessons

catering

x

x

2

111

food purchased for consumption outside of the home such as restaurants, cafeterias, cafés, vending machines or cinemas; includes tips

accommodation

x

x

2

112

resorts, hotels, hostels, rental cabins, guesthouses, dormitories or railway sleeping cars

insurance

x

x

2

121

all types of insurance including life, health, dwelling and transport

financialServices

x

x

2

122

moneylenders and credit cards; fees for banking

personalCare

x

x

2

131

appliances such as razors or toothbrushes, including electric appliances, and repair of such items; make-up, hairdressing and salons

personalEffects

x

x

2

132

jewellery, watches, devotional/religious items, bags and purses; repair of such items

socialProtection

x

x

2

133

Non-medical assistance and support services to the elderly, disabled or destitute

otherServices

x

x

2

139

legal services, services for real estate agents, photocopies, administrative documents, and other personal services like astrologers or private detectives

donations

x

x

2

n/a

all kinds of charitable donations

 

Calculations and sources

 

The footprint of a purchase is calculated by multiplying the transaction amount with the multiplier for the associated category.

The multipliers for level 2 categories are extracted from Exiobase 4, a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) table. An input-output table documents the economic activity by recording the flow of money in and out of different sectors of the economy.  “Multi-regional” simply means that the economy of many countries is included, so that imports and exports can be modelled accurately. Direct greenhouse gas emissions data is associated with each economic activity, and we can thus calculate the indirect emissions or footprint of money spent on a given good or service.

The multipliers for level 3 categories are calculated using a bottom-up approach, whereby Ducky obtains emissions based on life cycle assessment, and corresponding price and spending data, and uses these to calculate the emissions per unit spending.

In a very few cases, multipliers can be negative. Currently this is the case for the “homeServices” level 2 multiplier and the “refuseCollection” level 3 multiplier for some countries. This is due to allocation of waste in Exiobase - waste is sometimes recycled material which can be used in new products, replacing virgin material. Hence,performing certain home services or recycling waste can offset the manufacturing of a new material, which can lead to material and carbon savings, and  Iin this case the net climate impact is positive. The logic leading to negative multipliers is explained in detail on this webpage.

The date also influences the calculations, with the multipliers used in calculations being updated monthly. We account for inflationary effects, fluctuating prices on certain goods,  and changing technology over time.. For example, as manufacturers decarbonize their supply chains, the emissions intensity of their products will decrease. Hence, if you buy the same product five years from now, the footprint of your purchase will likely be lower.

 

See also intro to convert endpoint overview for related endpoints.