Fintech PR
Visa, COS and the United Repair Centre unite to make more sustainable choices everyone’s must-have
The first experiment partners for Visa’s Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab will be COS and United Repair Centre, in conjunction with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Mindworks and Twig, to support sustainable consumer choices and the transition to a circular economy.
- 92% of people surveyed say they want to live a sustainable life, but only 16% are actively changing their behaviour.[1]
- Visa is partnering with retail partners H&M Group’s COS brand, the United Repair Centre, Mindworks, Twig and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to help understand and overcome the barriers that stop consumers taking part in the circular economy.
- As one of the world leading payments network, Visa is strongly placed to develop new services that support more sustainable choices for consumers.
LONDON, July 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Today Visa announced the first partners for its Recommerce Behavioural Insights Lab, a new initiative running rapid real-world experiments to understand and share how businesses can help consumers actively engage in the transition to a more circular economy.
With 92% of consumers surveyed claiming they want to live a more sustainable life, but only 16% taking active steps to change their behaviour, Visa will partner with leading brands to better understand how to bridge this “intention/action gap”, aimed at driving more circular behaviours and business models while ensuring an inclusive approach.
The first two experiments will be run in partnership with COS and the United Repair Centre, and will take place in various places across Europe. Initial countries where early experiments are likely to take place include France, the Netherlands and Germany, as well as the UK.
COS will explore the motivations and compelling experiences that increase consumer participation in the resale market. Resale is an important part of fashion’s shift to circularity and is a growing commercial activity. However, with only 47% of consumers participating in resale activities more than once a year, many brands are still learning the many motivations and novel barriers that affect customer interest.[2]
The experiment with the United Repair Centre will leverage their experience offering high-quality repair services to leading European apparel brands. It will explore the barriers that stop consumers from repairing their garments, and how to make clothing repair services more accessible and beneficial for all.
The experiments will test the different experiences and motivations with customers in a variety of environments, including online and in store, to provide a better understanding of the precise triggers of changing consumer behaviours, experimenting with factors such as improving visibility, access, community, reward, ease, or affordability.
The experiments will be open sourced, with key findings available through downloadable playbooks so that other businesses can use this knowledge to help develop their own circular models and be part of the wider Recommerce community.
Katherine Brown, Vice President Sustainability and Inclusive Impact, Visa Europe: “Over half of Europeans are already regularly engaging in recommerce activities like resale. By uncovering what actually gets shoppers to change their behaviour and by leveraging our data and insights from these experiments with United Repair Centre and COS, we can identify new ways to make sustainable fashion a must-have purchase and accelerate the transition to the circular economy for all.”
Thami Schewichler, CEO, United Repair Centre: “Every brand is looking at how they can be sustainable, and consumers are also looking for sustainable alternatives. Repair is a great way to show consumers the value of clothing again, and as it becomes the new cool in fashion, it also gives them the chance to create real impact.”
To ensure the Behavioural Insights Lab provides participating partners with industry-leading expertise, Mindworks, a leading behavioural design expert, Twig, an innovative circular economy fintech, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation will be joining the Lab as foundational partners. Insights from our Strategic Partner, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, including circular design principles, will be incorporated, and the Foundation is further supporting the project by helping to shape its direction.
The meaningful and unique combination of Visa’s equitable commerce and design experience, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s circular design insights, Twig’s fintech meets resale space knowhow, and Mindworks’ key role in designing behavioural interventions, will supercharge discovery of actionable insights and scalable solutions, that encourage sustainable choices.
“As a Strategic Partner in our Network, we have been working with Visa to ensure circular design is incorporated in the Behavioural Insights Lab. This project is absolutely a design-led initiative, and an important step in the journey towards bringing together different actors to collectively imagine and test new ways of engaging people and enabling circular economy choices. The learnings from this iterative project will sit alongside our Adaptive Strategy for Circular Design to help organisations leverage design as they transition from linear to circular, and will support not only the fashion industry, but all actors across different sectors who want to bring their users and customers along on their circular economy journey.” Anna Queralt, Strategic Design Manager, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Brad Herholdt, CEO, MindWorks Consulting says: “We’re thrilled to be announced as one of Visa’s foundational partners for their Behavioural Insights Lab. At MindWorks we believe in the power of transformation for good which is why we can’t wait to help shape a better future for our planet and its people by designing innovative behavioural interventions to help consumers make more sustainable choices. We’re proud to partner with like-minded organisations and are especially excited about the open source nature of Visa’s labs approach, encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing for the whole community.”
The creation of the Behavioural Insights Lab follows the announcement of Visa’s commitment to Recommerce as a regenerative way to buy, re-use and share goods and services, helping to accelerate the transition from our “take-make-waste” linear economy to a circular economy, incorporating recommercial activities and business models, including resale, repair, rental, redistribution, return and refill.
For more information about Visa’s Recommerce programme and to join Visa to shape and accelerate the transition to a more circular economy designed for everyone, everywhere, please visit: www.visa.co.uk/recommerce.
To become a partner, visit: https://globalclient.visa.com/recommerce
Details on experiment methodology
Using insights from behavioural science, the Lab will identify the factors that drive consumer behaviour towards sustainable choices while also uncovering barriers that hinder the achievement of sustainable intentions, such as Resale, Rental and Repair.
The Lab plans to test and share the results of interventions that have been designed to overcome these obstacles, with the ultimate goal of assisting businesses and consumers in adopting more sustainable habits and behaviours.
In order to conduct these experiments, Visa has devised a comprehensive methodology that includes defining the behavioural barrier, establishing a behavioural intervention, designing the experiment, carrying out the experiment, analysing the data, and sharing the results openly. The foundation of the methodology and lab is based on the M.I.N.D.S.P.A.C.E behavioural framework that decodes the nine effects thought to have the most influence on behaviour.
By following this methodology, Visa will be able to evaluate experiment data and merchant feedback, share learnings, and create and share guides and playbooks for businesses to implement the intervention.
About Visa Inc.
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.co.uk, blog (https://www.visa.co.uk/visa-everywhere/blog.html), and @VisaUK.
[1] https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/sustainability/making-sustainable-choices-affordable-and-accessible-a-call-to-action-for-brands
[2] Opinium research on behalf of Visa, October 2022
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Fintech PR
TEAM NAVER to establish a joint venture with the National Housing Company in Saudi Arabia, building additional foundations for business along with its digital twin platform
– NHC, named “the largest real estate developer in the Middle East” this year, accounts for 70% of real estate transactions in Saudi Arabia
– Leading digital transformation in the real estate sector, including smart cities, plans underway to develop a map-enabled super app for public administration with NAVER
SEONGNAM, South Korea, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — TEAM NAVER is to establish a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s National Housing Company (NHC), a state-owned company under the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing. The JV will serve as NAVER’s business unit for the Saudi Arabia region, along with NAVER Arabia (tentative name) which will oversee the company’s business in the MENA region.
TEAM NAVER and NHC signed an MOU to establish a JV at Cityscape Global 2024, held from November 11 to 14 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The MOU signing ceremony was attended by key figures from both companies, including Chae Seon-ju, President of ESG and External Affairs at NAVER, Kim Yuwon, CEO of NAVER Cloud, Majed Al-Hogail, Saudi Arabian Minister of Municipalities and Housing, and Ryan Al-Aql, CSO of NHC.
The JV will operate under NAVER Arabia (tentative name), with the operation and commercialization of the digital twin platform in Saudi Arabia as its core business along with NHC. The JV will also be TEAM NAVER’s first business entity for its technology platform business in the Middle East.
NHC, a key partner of TEAM NAVER in Saudi Arabia, is a state-owned company under the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Municipalities and Housing that is responsible for 70% of real estate transactions in the country. As part of Saudi Arabia’s “Vision 2030” initiative, the company is currently focused on digital transformation such as digital innovation in the real estate sector and smart city development. Since its establishment in 2016, NHC has been in charge of over 380 projects for real estate development projects including public housing provision, and the value of its real estate portfolio is expected to exceed 60 billion USD (80 trillion KRW) as of the end of 2025. The company has also been selected as the largest real estate developer in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by the Construction Week Middle East in 2024.
TEAM NAVER and NHC will operate and commercialize the digital twin platform in Saudi Arabia through the JV, while also developing other businesses such as a public monitoring platform for urban areas and a map-enabled super app for public administration.
“TEAM NAVER’s global competitiveness in technology and business has been recognized by various ministries and organizations in Saudi Arabia, and we are excited to further discover business opportunities with different partners in the region,” said Chae Seon-ju, President of ESG and External Affairs at NAVER.
Meanwhile, from November 11 to 14 TEAM NAVER attended and exhibited its technologies in Cityscape Global 2024, a prime construction exhibition in Saudi Arabia, to further explore various business opportunities.
About NAVER
Founded in 1999, NAVER is Korea’s largest Internet company. It operates No.1 search engine in Korea ‘NAVER’, along with the e-commerce platform and various global online services such as LINE mobile messenger, Webtoon and Webnovel publishing, SNOW video camera app and ZEPETO metaverse platform.
In addition to its own offerings, NAVER is building a strong global business portfolio through partnerships with industry-leading companies, including Softbank, Poshmark, and Wattpad. NAVER recorded sales of KRW 9.6 trillion (USD 6.9 billion) in 2023. The company invests approximately 25% of its annual sales in R&D projects, pursuing innovation through continuous research and development of future technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics and autonomous driving technologies.
To learn more, visit www.navercorp.com/en
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Fintech PR
Setting a New Safety Benchmark for the Industry: Sungrow Achieves Success in the World’s Largest BESS Fire Test
HEFEI, China, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — In June 2024, Sungrow took the bold step of deliberately combusting the 10MWh of its PowerTitan 1.0 liquid-cooled battery energy storage system (BESS), becoming the first company globally to conduct a large-scale burn test on an energy storage system. Recently, the company invested approximately 4.23 million USD[1] to perform the world’s largest and longest burn test on 20MWh of its PowerTitan 2.0 liquid-cooled BESS.
These two burn tests conducted within six months underscore Sungrow’s commitment to technological innovation, its relentless pursuit of product quality, and its unwavering dedication to ensuring the safety of both personnel and assets at energy storage plants. Meanwhile, the test represents Sungrow’s steadfast commitment to upholding the safety baseline for the energy storage industry.
The 20MWh burn test replicated a real-world power plant fire scenario, completed under the oversight of DNV (Det Norske Veritas) experts and over 100 clients, and delivered results exceeding expectations. The results were clear: there was no fire propagation during the thermal runaway incident. In contrast to conventional industry burn tests, this test was a significant upgrade in terms of combustion duration, testing conditions, and safety standards, establishing a new benchmark for safety through rigorous and extreme testing.
Challenge 1:
Withstanding Over 25 Hours of Combustion, Proving Superior System Protection Capability
Unlike common industry-standard combustion tests within 4 to 8 hours, this challenging test was designed to sustain for 3 to 6 times longer. After continuous burning within 25 hours and 43 minutes, the container structure of the thermal runaway unit remained intact, and the system could still be safely hoisted for removal. Importantly, the fire did not spread beyond the unit, demonstrating the PowerTitan 2.0’s advanced explosion venting, flame retardancy, and impact resistance capabilities.
Challenge 2:
Enduring Temperatures High Enough to Melt Steel, Verifying Thermal Runaway Containment
To simulate extreme operating conditions, four fully-charged energy storage units were arrayed nearby — containers A and B were only 15 cm apart, which is the absolute minimum distance permitted in the industry (most power plant containers are spaced 3 meters apart). Despite the flames from container A reaching 1,385°C — temperatures high enough to melt steel — the fire did not spread to the neighboring container B, which maintained a safe temperature of 40°C. This result validates the PowerTitan 2.0’s superior fire insulation ability, even when the units are placed in extremely close quarters.
Challenge 3:
Testing Fire Resistance and Flame Retardancy Without Firefighting Protection
In this phase of the test, all firefighting systems for the BESS containers were intentionally shut off, leaving the units unprotected and significantly increasing the safety risks. Despite this, the PowerTitan 2.0 performed admirably, with all four storage container doors remaining intact and not burned through. The fire was effectively contained within the container, and the damage was limited. This demonstrated the BESS’s ability to autonomously respond to extreme fire situations, highlighting the robust passive fire protection design that minimizes risk.
Safety is the cornerstone of the energy storage industry. Sungrow’s two consecutive, high-investment, extremely large-scale burn tests on the PowerTitan series reflect the company’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding personnel, assets, and operations at power plants, as well as its dedication to reinforcing the safety standards for the entire industry. The success of this rigorous and high-standard combustion test sets a new benchmark for safety in the energy storage sector, providing valuable real-world evidence for future safety protocols.
|
[1] 30 million CNY (approximately 4.23 million USD at an exchange rate of 7.1 CNY to 1 USD). |
About Sungrow
Sungrow, a global leader in renewable energy technology, has pioneered sustainable power solutions for over 27 years. As of June 2024, Sungrow has installed 605 GW of power electronic converters worldwide. The Company is recognized as the world’s No. 1 on PV inverter shipments (S&P Global Commodity Insights) and the most bankable Asian energy storage company (BloombergNEF). Its innovations power clean energy projects in over 170 countries, supported by a network of 490 service outlets guaranteeing excellent customer experience. At Sungrow, we’re committed to bridging to a sustainable future through cutting-edge technology and unparalleled service. For more information, please visit www.sungrowpower.com.
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QINGDAO, China, Nov. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from chinadaily.com.cn:
Important in Qingdao’s development strategy, Laoshan district is a city of science and technology that is a fertile ground for innovation and a number of strategic emerging industries and future industries.
In 1994, the initial batch of high-tech enterprises in Qingdao began to congregate in Laoshan. Over the past 30 years, Laoshan has focused on expanding and strengthening the value chains of seven key industries including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and modern finance.
The district has attracted a large number of innovative enterprises, including nine unicorn companies, 28 nationally recognized specialized and new “little giant” enterprises, 47 provincial-level gazelle enterprises, and 920 high-tech enterprises, all of which are among the top in the city in terms of quantity.
Laoshan district currently has the highest density of scientific and technological innovation in Shandong, with 178 high-tech enterprises per 10,000 companies, 52 national and provincial-level scientific research institutions, and 160 academicians and high-level talents.
By 2023, the proportion of the output value of high-tech industries in Laoshan district to the total output value of large-scale industries reached 86.55 percent, with the leading industry scale exceeding 180 billion yuan ($25.33 billion). Laoshan district has been selected as one of the nation’s top 100 industrial zones for two consecutive years.
Taking virtual reality as an example, as early as 2016, Laoshan district proposed that it become China’s virtual reality industry capital. In 2022, Qingdao constructed an industrial park featuring virtual reality in Laoshan, which has a planned area of over 2,000 mu (133.33 hectares), aiming to create an internationally leading highland for the virtual reality industry.
With the establishment of the industrial park, Laoshan district has vigorously attracted industry-leading enterprises and high-growth companies, as well as top talents in virtual reality. Currently, the park has attracted leading consumer-facing companies such as Douyin Pico and Dapeng VR, as well as core supporting enterprises such as electroacoustic components manufacturer GoerTek and Chinese virtual reality headset maker Pico. Shipments of high-end VR products from leading companies in the park account for over 80 percent of the domestic market.
In 2023, the scale of the virtual reality industry in Laoshan district surpassed 18 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent, and the virtual reality industry cluster was selected as a provincial-level future industry cluster.
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