As part of the ICEMAN mechanism, we will create a database to verify the certification of the Carbon Factor Index. This database, hosted on a website, will list the Index and will be searchable and open to the public. Through this database, consumers and wholesale buyers of products will be able to look up and verify the Carbon Factor Index value of every product certified. Shoppers will be able to know the Carbon Factor Index value of any product before buying it—even if they are not standing in the store directly looking at the label on the product’s packaging.
Carbon accounting is based on the carbon emissions of the year prior, so, in order to remain certified, manufacturers will be required to stay current on their carbon accounting. Because the certification must be maintained, manufacturers will have an opportunity to update their carbon emissions data every year—further encouraging them to continually reduce their carbon footprint to improve their CFI value.
The database website can also become a tool in and of itself. The data will be organized by standard industry codes to facilitate target marketing by companies, allowing it to become a business hub that gives companies an opportunity to promote their low-carbon operations.
For example, when a manufacturer produces widgets, within the manufacturing corporation is a buyer who purchases the raw materials and components that make up the widget. That buyer is concerned with all the same attributes as an individual consumer: price, availability, quality, etc. Now, just like individual buyers considering a product’s CFI value, that buyer can consider the carbon footprint attribute of the raw materials and components they are purchasing. The buyer can easily go onto the database website and search for which companies are selling the materials and components they need with the highest CFI values. By purchasing the materials and components with high CFI values, the manufacturer can create a product with a higher CFI value.
The ICEMAN database is a tool for people who are ready to buy. It doesn’t need an algorithm to determine what the buyer wants or how to target them. When a buyer for a manufacturer searches for a component or material in the database, they are ready, at that moment, to pull the trigger and make a purchase. In that moment, when the buyer is ready to buy, there is a ready-made opportunity to market that buyer a product with a higher CFI value.
It’s direct marketing. Companies that have worked to reduce their carbon footprint will automatically be marketed to the buyer, who is ready to purchase. When a buyer sorts the products for which they are searching by CFI value, the product with the highest CFI value will be at the top of the list.
Manufacturers will want their products at the top of the list. This way, the database will encourage manufacturers to make sure their products have a high CFI value. And because this automatic marketing will hit the purchaser at the moment they are ready to purchase, successful marketing at this time will have greater results than marketing on any other advertising platform.