Sustainable solutions in partnership with startups

When we want to add value to customers, a product or a process, it becomes crucial to find the right solution. You don't always have to build them from scratch. Many technologies that address specific business needs already exist and are being developed by technology companies. This is exactly the approach that Bank Pekao S.A. has taken advantage of on the Polish market, implementing an offer based on a tool provided by the startup. In this article, you will learn how the process went – from the identification of the need to the final implementation.

Where did the idea for the carbon footprint calculator come from?

Bank Pekao S.A. has diagnosed a business need among its clients: under the EU CSRD Directive, more and more Polish companies must or will have to report on how they manage their impact on people and the environment and what actions they have taken in the field of sustainable development. These companies are or will be obliged to, among other things, calculate their carbon footprint. There are also many suppliers that, although not subject to reporting, are located in global value chains and are asked by their contractors for information on their carbon footprint.

In the face of these challenges, Polish entrepreneurs will need support and specific tools. Therefore, Bank Pekao S.A. verified what tools are available on the Polish startup market and what business potential carbon footprint calculators have.

The project was implemented in 2024 by the Strategy and Development Office in the Corporate Banking Division in cooperation with the Innovation Laboratory Team. It included a market review, startup scouting, piloting solutions at the bank, recommendations for choosing a partner and cooperation model, and support in establishing commercial cooperation.

Stage 1. Exploratory study

To begin with, the project team looked at financial institutions' sustainability offerings and market trends and solutions. The experts checked what actions other banks are taking to support their corporate clients and presented recommendations for innovative actions in this area.

Stage 2. Market overview

The second step was a review of solutions offered by startups on the Polish market. The project team developed evaluation criteria and analysed carbon footprint solutions based on them.

The evaluation criteria included, among others, the scope of measuring the carbon footprint, the method of entering data into the platform, the proposed reduction and offset activities, and the course of the onboarding process. Experts evaluated the solutions and selected two vendors from the market for the pilot.

Stage 3. Pilot solutions

To verify whether the selected solutions really meet customer expectations, the project team conducted a pilot study. It is designed to allow you not only to test carbon footprint calculators, but also:

- Develop proposals for key and unique functionalities of the target tool,

- Examine the needs of corporate clients in the area of ESG, identify areas for further exploration.

At the very beginning, business goals, criteria for evaluating startups, and a way of working were defined. Dozens of companies took part in the tests – customers entered data on their own, read the reduction tips and generated a report.

After 2 months, the project team evaluated the effectiveness of the calculators based on the test data, and the customer-testers provided feedback in interviews conducted by the Innovation Lab Team.

Stage 4. Recommendations

The pilot project allowed us to get to know two perspectives – that of the customers and that of the bank. The project team assessed how the tested solutions work before implementation, got to know the real needs of users, checked the effectiveness of the tool, its interface, functionalities and approach to user experience design.

Clients evaluated the tools from the perspective of, among others:

- Expert support and customer service,

- Intuitiveness and UX of the tool,

- The ability to calculate all three scopes of the carbon footprint.

The conclusions from the research, tests and analyses were crucial – on their basis, the project team prepared recommendations regarding the choice of one of the technology companies as a partner, the cooperation model and the possibility of implementing the calculator in the bank.

Stage 5. Implementation

In November 2024, Bank Pekao S.A. announced the establishment of cooperation with Plan Be Eco. The bank's corporate clients can use the carbon footprint calculator on preferential terms.

The calculator allows customers to estimate their carbon footprint across all three scopes – direct (scope 1) and indirect (scope 2 and 3) emissions. It also makes it possible to analyse and plan greenhouse gas emission reductions. In this way, Bank Pekao S.A. supports SMEs and smaller corporations in managing the environmental impact of air emissions.

Innovation of the project

Bank Pekao S.A. has completed a comprehensive process of testing and selecting a new value-added service for its customers. For the bank, ESG is a dynamically developing area that opens up new opportunities and can be a source of competitive advantage. Bank Pekao S.A. is one of the few banks in Poland that offers a carbon footprint calculator in three scopes. It sets a new standard, but also paves the way for future activities, such as the development of a comprehensive range of sustainability services for customers.

Bank Pekao S.A., established in 1929, is one of the largest financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe and the second largest universal bank in Poland with assets of PLN 333 billion. The bank has the second largest branch network in the country. It is one of the leaders in corporate banking, and every second corporation in Poland is its client. It occupies a leading position in asset management, brokerage and private banking. 

Bank Pekao's diversified business profile is supported by a market-leading balance sheet and risk profile reflected in the lowest risk costs, strong capital ratios and resilience to macroeconomic conditions (Pekao proved to be the most resilient bank, ranking first in the stress tests conducted by the EBA in 2023 among 70 banks in Europe). Since 1998, Bank Pekao has been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and is included in several local (including WIG 20 and WIG) and international indices (including MSCI EM, Stoxx Europe 600 and FTSE Developed). Pekao is one of the most dividend-paying listed companies in Poland, having paid out a total of nearly PLN 20 billion to its shareholders over the last 10 years.