Interview with David Lais, Co-Founder and Managing Director at ecolytiq

Tell us about ecolytiq

Born from a passion for sustainability and innovation, Mirko Kämpf, Freidrich Hubel and myself founded ecolytiq in March 2020.

ecolytiq has partnered with some of the world’s leading banks and payment providers, including Visa, TSYS, Worldline, Tink, Rabobank, and Mashreq. Our platform empowers banks and financial institutions to offer transparency on climate impact for their customers. 

API integrations enable banks and payment providers to offer their customers real-time information on the carbon footprint of their transactions and suggested actions and insights to drive meaningful behavioural change, for climate engagement and carbon emission reduction.

We believe ecolytiq is more than just a platform, it is a catalyst for financial service providers to lead the sustainability transition. It empowers people to take control of their financial and environmental impact, with each transaction.

How did you come up with the idea for ecolytiq? 

I came up with the idea for ecolytiq in 2015 while on holiday. Sitting on a beach in Thailand, surrounded by plastic waste, I strongly felt that hyper-consumption in daily life needs to come to an end.  

I was disappointed by the lack of global efforts to keep up with the ever-growing urgency of climate change, and I wanted to do something more. It is simple to acknowledge that there is an issue globally with our environment and climate but it is more challenging to take action. We wanted to find a way to give power back to consumers so I used my expertise in payment technologies to promote conscious consumerism. 

What do you think makes ecolytiq unique?

ecolytiq means what it says and delivers. On average, bank customers using our tools achieve a 13% reduction in carbon emissions per user within one year (whilst increasing spending with their bank by 19%, and engagement in their banking apps by 145%). 

ecolytiq uniquely uses a peer-reviewed, open-source standard for transaction-to-carbon measurement. Through our platform, we estimated that 1.28 million tons of CO2 emissions were avoided by active users in 2023. 

How has ecolytiq evolved over the last couple of years?

In May 2022, ecolytiq successfully closed its investment round, raising €13.5 million from key investors, including Visa and PwC Germany, to further develop the product and expand the markets in which it operates.

The funds have been used to expand further our ‘Sustainability-as-a-Service’ solution, which is available in Europe, Canada and the US, serving ecolytiq’s core mission to help banks all over the globe empower customers with transparency on individual environmental impact while enabling new business models for the financial sector in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 

What can we hope to see from ecolytiq in the future?

ecolytiq will continue to innovate on a global scale and maintain a flexible approach by leveraging world-class partnerships with financial and sustainability market leaders to define the future of climate tech in the banking and finance sector. 

With over three billion cards in use and access to over 200+ countries, having Visa as a partner enables ecolytiq to reach 100 million consumers through banks and incorporate climate education and engagement as a regular part of banking over the next five years.