• Physical card pre-paid with blockchain-based carbon credits allows businesses to instantly mitigate hard-to-manage emissions such as travel
• Designed to be an affordable, accessible way for corporates and their employees to engage in positive climate action
• Tackles the "Nationality Problem" of carbon credits by allowing voluntary offsets without triggering Nationally Determined Contributions

SINGAPORE, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — MetaVerse Green Exchange ("MVGX"), a digital green exchange licensed and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), announced the launch of a new tool, the Net Zero Card, in its suite of products and services to enable employees to easily support and reinforce an organization’s sustainability commitments.

The Net Zero Card was recently piloted for the very first time at DLD Munich and at the 2022 Annual Meeting at Davos for the World Economic Forum, where MetaVerse Green Exchange Executive Chairman and Co-Founder Dr. Bo Bai offset 3 tons of CO2 — equivalent to the entirety of his round-trip journey from Singapore to Munich and Davos as well as hotel stays. Attendees to MVGX’s Afternoon Tea Session during the World Economic Forum received these cards as a door gift and were also encouraged to neutralize their trip to Davos, which resulted in a total of 7.3 tons of CO2 neutralized. To mark the soft launch of the Net Zero Card, MVGX is working with a couple of organizations to release an initial batch of 700 cards at the end of June.

Commenting on this latest corporate initiative, Dr. Bo Bai, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of MetaVerse Green Exchange, said: "If the past year is any indication, the climate crisis has fully transitioned into a climate emergency and we, as a collective business community, need to take action in any way that we can. Reduction is a crucial piece of the puzzle, however, there needs to be a simpler and more streamlined way to offset the emissions that remain. We created the Net Zero Card to make it easier for businesses across the globe — no matter the industry or their size — to offset their carbon footprint, across all their activities in an accessible, affordable way."

The customizable Net Zero Card is a pre-paid, white-label solution that is designed for different situations in which a business may want to offset or enable their clients to offset their carbon footprint on a short-term basis. Comparable to an EZ-link travel card, the Net Zero Card marks MVGX’s first offering that applies to retail through their institutional customers. For its initial launch, the Net Zero Card will solely support travel-related applications within Singapore such as commuting to work or to events with public or private transportation. This is especially timely as domestic restrictions surrounding in-person events and enforced remote working lift. In fact, with nearly a million vehicles traveling on Singapore’s roads releasing 6.4 million tons of CO2 each year, domestic travel equates to over a tenth of the city-state’s total emissions.

Each Net Zero Card is equipped with a near-field communication (NFC) tag which can be scanned with a smartphone. If the NFC reader has been switched off by the user for privacy reasons, a QR code printed on the gift card can also be used to access a landing page that will allow the user to calculate their emissions based on the duration of travel and the mode of transportation in the Net Zero Diary. Accompanying the Net Zero Card is the soon-to-be-launched mobile app, which will leverage the user’s smartphone’s geo-tracking capabilities to track and measure their carbon footprint throughout their journey. Once the emissions have been calculated, MVGX will retire the corresponding amount of Carbon Neutrality Tokens (CNTs^TM) based on the prepaid amount on the card, with traceable and immutable records on the blockchain.

The patent-pending Net Zero Card is backed by MVGX’s asset-backed CNT^TM which are tied to Voluntary Emission Reductions (VERs). Backed by proprietary protocols and blockchain technology, CNTs^TM are designed to combine the immutability of non-fungible tokens with real-time data updates, offering an immutable and continuously updated record of carbon performance.

CNTs^™ address one of the most challenging aspects of the Paris Agreement (COP21) – namely, the "Nationality Problem" of carbon credits – enabling carbon neutrality at scale and facilitating the global goal of Net Zero emissions without triggering Nationally Determined Contributions.

"A company’s sustainability strategy should not only be a matter of corporate accountability but also individual responsibility. A critical roadblock in mobilizing climate action is often when people are unable to truly visualize the full negative impact of their behavior on the environment. With the Net Zero Card and Net Zero Diary, we hope that people can come to realize that every action – as much as inaction – matters when it comes to securing the future of a greener planet," continued Dr. Bai.

VERs play a significant role in supporting carbon-reduction projects and as of 2021, the voluntary carbon market topped US$1 billion, pointing to the growing appetite for green financing opportunities across businesses of all sizes as they work to keep to their sustainability commitments. This appetite is equally reflected among employees — according to a Unily survey, 65 percent of surveyed respondents expressed that they would be more likely to work for a company with robust environmental policies.

The Net Zero Card‘s applications are going to be more important due to the resumption of large-scale, in-person corporate events as borders across the world gradually reopen, inevitably resulting in a surge of international business travel, pointing to its enduring relevance for businesses. While global carbon emissions dropped by 7 percent in 2021 due to ongoing lockdowns, aviation continues to account for up to 3 percent of all carbon emissions globally.

In light of this, MVGX’s Net Zero Card is now available for businesses across Singapore for purchase as they empower their employees and clients to play an active role in strengthening their company’s sustainability strategy as the emphasis on positive climate action intensifies.