WO2024075765A1 - Carbon credit distribution system and marine investment system - Google Patents

Abstract

This carbon credit distribution system comprises: an inventory management unit which manages inventory information about carbon credits; an inventory transmission unit which transmits, to a user terminal, inventory information about carbon credits; a payment processing unit which, when receiving a carbon credit purchase request from the user terminal, executes payment for carbon credits to be purchased; and an investment management unit which manages investment money, wherein the carbon credits are registered in the inventory information in association with businesses, the inventory management unit transfers the ownership of the carbon credits to the purchaser of the carbon credits when the carbon credits are purchased, and the investment management unit allocates the purchase price of the carbon credits to investment to the business associated with the carbon credits.

Description

Carbon Credit Distribution System and Marine Investment System

The present invention relates to a technology for managing investments in environmental conservation.

It is believed that the cause of global warming is an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a result of humans digging up carbon compounds that had accumulated underground over eons and burning them to extract energy.

The Kyoto Protocol was concluded in 1990 with the aim of reducing greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. The Kyoto Protocol set greenhouse gas emission quotas for each country. In addition, a financial product called "Carbon Credit (CC)" was devised to further encourage the reduction of greenhouse gases. Specifically, when projects that lead to the reduction of greenhouse gases, such as the introduction of energy-saving equipment, the introduction of renewable energy, and afforestation and thinning, are carried out, a public institution certifies that carbon credits have been produced. In other words, the carbon credits are certified.

Purchasing carbon credits supports greenhouse gas reduction projects. Companies around the world are aiming to achieve their greenhouse gas reduction targets not only by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also by purchasing carbon credits.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses technology for limiting greenhouse gas emissions within a certain range.

JP 2004-326375 A Japanese Patent No. 5340959

In order to build momentum for greenhouse gas reduction, it is necessary to create a mechanism that allows many users to participate in carbon credit trading, and a mechanism that allows many users to directly or indirectly benefit from carbon credit trading. In other words, it is necessary to expand the range of stakeholders in carbon credit trading. Patent Document 1 aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but does not take into account the perspective of encouraging many users to participate in greenhouse gas reduction projects.

Humans use the global environment as a public good in their activities. In order to maintain a healthy global environment, widespread and large-scale investments in various environmental conservation projects, not limited to greenhouse gas reduction, are necessary. To promote investment in environmental conservation projects, technology is needed to make investment in environmental conservation projects efficient and rational.

The present invention was completed in light of the above background, and its main purpose is to provide technology to promote environmental investment.

A carbon credit distribution system in one aspect of the present invention comprises an inventory management unit that manages inventory information of carbon credits, an inventory transmission unit that transmits inventory information of carbon credits to a user terminal, a payment processing unit that executes payment for the carbon credits to be purchased when a purchase request for carbon credits is received from the user terminal, and an investment management unit that manages investment funds.
In the inventory information, carbon credits are registered in association with businesses.
When the carbon credits are purchased, the inventory management department transfers the ownership of the carbon credits to the purchaser of the carbon credits, and the investment management department allocates the purchase price of the carbon credits to investments in the business associated with the carbon credits.

A marine investment system in one embodiment of the present invention comprises an investment management unit that manages capital contributions from operators, a receiving unit that receives reports of catch volumes for a specified period from the operators' communications terminals, an investment management unit that calculates the capital contributions of each of a number of operators based on the catch volumes of the multiple operators, and a notification unit that notifies the operators' communications terminals of the calculated capital contributions.
The Investment Management Department allocates capital contributions from multiple businesses to investments in marine cleanup projects.

This invention makes it easier to encourage investment in environmental conservation projects.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a carbon credit trading system. This is a conceptual diagram of investment in marine plastic removal projects. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a carbon credit distribution system in a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the environmental investment management device. 1 is a functional block diagram of an environmental investment management device according to a first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a user terminal. FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of a selling order database. 8A is a screen shot of a sell order inquiry, and FIG 8B is a screen shot of a sell order submission. FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of an inventory information database. Fig. 10(A) is a screen diagram of an inventory inquiry, and Fig. 10(B) is a screen diagram of an inventory presentation. FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of investment information. FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing a process of purchasing carbon credits with investment in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of business information. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a process of distributing profits in the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an inventory inquiry screen in the first modified example. FIG. 13 is a screenshot of a project progress report. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram of a marine investment system in a second embodiment. Fig. 18(A) is a schematic diagram showing a fishing quota (plan), Fig. 18(B) is a schematic diagram showing a fishing catch (actual) that does not meet the fishing quota (plan), and Fig. 18(C) is a schematic diagram showing a fishing catch (actual) that exceeds the fishing quota (plan). FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of an environmental investment management device in a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the process of processing contributions by fishermen. FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of investment information.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a carbon credit trading system.
The environmental investment management device is operated by a private company or a local government. Hereinafter, the operator of the environmental investment management device will be referred to as the "investment manager." As will be described later, the investment manager makes profits by investing in environmental protection projects.

In this embodiment, each company is preset with an "emissions allowance" for carbon dioxide. Companies emit carbon dioxide during their business activities. We envision a society in which, when carbon dioxide emissions exceed the emission allowance, a levy (monetary burden) such as a carbon tax is imposed on the excess amount. Producers of carbon credits (emissions credit data) (hereinafter referred to as "CC producers") generate carbon credits using technologies known as CCS (Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage) and CCU (Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilization).

CC producers undergo an examination by a designated examination organization for the carbon credits generated through their carbon dioxide reduction activities. Through this examination, the carbon credits are officially certified. In this embodiment, carbon credits are digital data that represent the "right to emit a specified amount of carbon dioxide."

The investment manager first purchases carbon credits from the CC producer. The environmental investment management device instructs an external payment system, such as a financial institution, to make payment to the CC producer. The CC producer transmits the carbon credits (digital data) to the environmental investment management device. Note that payment from the investment manager to the CC producer may be made by transferring electronic money from the environmental investment management device to the CC producer's communication terminal.

The investment manager purchases one unit of carbon credit from a CC producer for X1 yen. By continually purchasing large amounts of carbon credits from multiple CC producers, the investment manager can reduce the unit purchase price of carbon credits.

The investment manager then sells the purchased carbon credits to users who require carbon credits (hereafter referred to as "CC consumers"). CC consumers are assumed to be corporations that conduct business involving carbon dioxide emissions. CC consumers purchase carbon credits by paying a price to the investment manager. It is assumed that a CC consumer purchases one unit of carbon credit from the investment manager for X2 yen. In this case, since X2 > X1, the difference becomes the investment manager's revenue.

The investment manager invests all or part of the profits earned from buying and selling carbon credits in various environmental protection businesses. In Figure 1, the investment manager invests in a business that operates a forest conservation business (hereafter referred to as a "forest conservator").

Forests act as a carbon dioxide sink. However, if proper conservation through reforestation, thinning, etc. is no longer carried out, the forest's carbon dioxide absorption capacity will decrease. If forest conservation is neglected, forests may change from being a carbon dioxide sink to being a carbon dioxide emission source. Therefore, forest conservation projects are important for environmental protection. Forest conservators can raise funds through investments from investment managers and operate forest conservation projects stably.

Properly conserved forests act as carbon dioxide sinks, and can produce carbon credits. Forest conservators become CC producers by having an assessment organization certify their carbon credit production. Investment managers receive the carbon credits generated from forest conservation projects in return for their investment. Investment managers can also sell the carbon credits they receive from forest conservation projects to CC consumers. In other words, investing in forest conservation projects is a rational economic activity for investment managers as well.

Investment returns in forest conservation projects are not limited to carbon credits. The investment manager may receive a portion of the "blessings of the forest" such as crops harvested from the forest through the forest conservation project, such as mushrooms and vegetables. For example, the annual mushroom harvest volume before the investment in the forest conservation project may be used as the base, and all or part of the increase in the annual mushroom harvest volume after the investment may be delivered to the investment manager as investment return. "Crops" as investment return may include insects such as rhinoceros beetles, wild animals such as wild boars, wild plants, timber, spring water, and tourism revenues such as mountain entrance fees.

The investment manager sells to the general public the various crops obtained in return for investing in the forest conservation project. In this way, by investing in the forest conservation project, the investment manager can obtain not only carbon credits but also various investment returns as the outcome of the forest conservation project. Furthermore, the widespread cultivation of mushrooms, vegetables, and other crops is also desirable from the perspective of preserving the forest ecosystem.

Investments in environmental conservation projects can be made not only in forest conservation, but also in agriculture. Some agricultural crops are highly effective at storing carbon dioxide in the soil. Also, cost competitiveness is an issue when it comes to agriculture that takes environmental conservation into consideration. Investment managers can invest in this type of agriculture that contributes to environmental conservation, and receive investment returns from the increased yield of agricultural crops.

When multiple environmental conservation projects are considered as investment targets, the investment manager selects the investment that will have the greatest carbon dioxide reduction effect. Specifically, the investment manager may give priority to afforestation projects in areas with high carbon dioxide emissions based on known ground observation data. Afforestation projects in areas with high carbon dioxide emissions are expected to produce many carbon credits.

In forests, the diversity of tree species is said to be important for ecosystem conservation. A wide variety of crops can be obtained from forests with rich ecosystems. Therefore, investing in forest conservation that contributes to the diversification of tree species can contribute not only to carbon dioxide reduction but also to ecological diversity.

In addition to terrestrial organisms, marine organisms also absorb carbon dioxide dissolved in the ocean. Carbon absorbed and stored by marine organisms is called "blue carbon." Therefore, preserving mangrove forests and cultivating seaweed along coastal areas are also effective ways of reducing carbon dioxide. For example, research is being conducted into encouraging algae growth by supplementing the ocean with iron as a nutrient. Investment managers can invest in marine conservation as well as land conservation, and obtain carbon credits or crops obtained through the conservation of the marine environment as investment returns.

Other environmental conservation projects include the development of renewable energy sources such as solar and geothermal power generation. In this case, the investment manager may receive a portion of the generated electricity or electricity fees as investment income.

Various investment projects are registered in the environmental investment management device. The environmental investment management device selects or proposes investment destinations from the multiple investment projects. As a selection method, for example, as described above, the investment destination may be selected with priority given to projects that contribute to carbon dioxide absorption in areas with high carbon dioxide emissions. Alternatively, the investment destination may be selected based on the expected investment return obtained from the environmental investment, the amount required for the investment, and the investment diversification effect of multiple investment projects.

The environmental investment management device may select an investment destination based on the preferences of the investment manager. For example, if the investment manager is highly concerned about marine pollution, the environmental investment management device may preferentially select investment projects that contribute to marine purification from among multiple investment projects and propose them to the investment manager as potential investment destinations.

The investment management device can select investment targets based on various criteria, such as the level of contribution to environmental conservation, the size of the investment return expected from environmental investment, the investment manager's preferences, the investment target's past performance, the amount of money required for the investment, the diversification of the investment target regions, and the diversity of the investment target businesses.

Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram of investment in marine plastic removal projects.
The problem of marine plastic is becoming more serious for fishermen. Aquaculture farmers are said to be particularly vulnerable to the damage caused by marine plastic. Marine plastic removal projects are important for protecting the marine environment and maintaining and increasing fish catches.

In Figure 2, the investment manager provides funding for the marine plastic removal project. In turn, the investment manager collects membership fees from fishermen whose fishing grounds are in the target sea areas of the marine plastic removal project. These membership fees may be low or free.

If the fish catch increases as a result of the marine plastic removal project, the investment manager will receive part or all of that increase from the fishermen as investment income.

In Figure 2, the investment manager also operates a biofuel production business. Specifically, the investment manager grows a plant called sorghum. Sorghum grows roots deep in the soil, accumulates carbon, and biofuel can be produced from the stalks. Therefore, the biofuel production business can produce carbon credits and biofuel.

Fishermen use heavy oil (fossil fuel) as an energy source for their fishing boats. Carbon dioxide is produced when heavy oil is burned. Assuming that emissions regulations are imposed on the carbon dioxide produced by the use of heavy oil, fishermen will also need carbon credits. Investment managers can receive compensation by selling carbon credits to fishermen.

Suppose also that fishermen switch from heavy oil to biofuel as fuel for their fishing vessels in order to comply with carbon dioxide emission regulations. In this case, the investment manager can receive compensation by selling the biofuel produced by the biofuel production business to the fishermen. At present, biofuel is more expensive than heavy oil, but depending on carbon dioxide emission regulations, it is believed that there will come a time when biofuel becomes more economically rational than heavy oil. The investment manager can support the fishermen in switching from heavy oil (fossil fuel) to biofuel.

Increasing demand for biofuels will allow for larger investments in biofuel production businesses.

The investment manager can build a connection with fishermen through marine conservation through the marine plastic removal project. More specifically, the increase in catch is also returned to the investment manager. The investment manager can also expand trade with fishermen through the sale of carbon credits and biofuel obtained from the biofuel production project. Meanwhile, fishermen do not have to incur costs to remove marine plastic themselves, but can simply pay the investment manager an appropriate compensation from the increase in catch as a result of the investment manager removing marine plastic. As a result, the marine plastic removal project can be carried out at a lower cost than if they were to carry it out themselves.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 3 is a system configuration diagram of the carbon credit distribution system in the first embodiment.
CC producers can generate carbon credits by carrying out carbon dioxide reduction activities and receiving certification from a designated certification body. The aforementioned "examination body" will be referred to as the "certification body" from here on.

　CC producers apply for carbon credit certification to a certification body by reporting their business operations and results. The certification body certifies the amount of carbon credits generated based on the CC producer's application.

Once the amount of carbon credits generated, or in other words, the amount of carbon reduction (amount of carbon credits generated) by a CC producer, is certified, the carbon credits are deemed to have been officially generated by the CC producer.

Carbon credits are freely traded on the market. They may be bought and sold directly between the parties involved, or through a CC exchange, like a stock exchange that handles stocks. The carbon credits produced by CC producers are ultimately passed on to CC consumers, who use carbon credits to offset the levies associated with carbon dioxide emissions. In this way, CC consumers offset their own emissions of carbon dioxide (an example of a greenhouse gas) with carbon credits, which is called "carbon offsetting." Carbon credits used for carbon offsetting will disappear. If the circulation of carbon credits becomes more widespread, CC producers will increase their production of carbon credits, and carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced throughout society as a whole.

Private companies other than the CC exchange may also mediate the buying and selling of carbon credits. In the first embodiment, an investment manager mediates the buying and selling of carbon credits, separate from the CC exchange. The CC exchange completes transactions by linking sell orders and buy orders for carbon credits, but it only mediates the transactions and does not purchase carbon credits itself. Meanwhile, the investment manager purchases carbon credits and resells them. The investment manager holds the carbon credits that it purchases in large quantities as its own inventory. The stored carbon credits are sold to CC consumers, who are the customers of the investment manager.

The carbon credits sold by the investment manager are associated with environmental conservation projects in which they will be invested. Hereinafter, carbon credits with designated environmental conservation projects in which they will be invested are referred to as "carbon credits with investment." For example, if the investment manager determines that there is a high level of interest in "forest conservation" among general consumers or CC consumers, he or she will associate investment in "forest conservation" with the carbon credits. The type of environmental conservation project to invest in will affect the sales or price of the carbon credits with investment. If there is a high level of momentum in supporting the environmental conservation project, the carbon credits will sell well and will be easier to sell at a high price.

For example, let's say that there is growing interest in Amazon forest conservation among general consumers. In this case, a CC consumer, which is a general company, can create a positive corporate image by investing in Amazon forest conservation projects and promoting this to consumers. For this reason, carbon credits with investment in "Amazon forest conservation projects" are an attractive product for CC consumers. Investment managers can sell carbon credits more easily by setting Amazon forest conservation projects as the investment destination for carbon credits purchased from CC producers. Investment managers can add unique added value to carbon credits, which are environmental protection products, by making a commitment that "a portion of the sales price will be invested in Amazon forest conservation projects."

Part of the sales price of the investment-included carbon credits becomes profit for the investment manager, and part of it becomes investment capital for environmental conservation projects. When a CC consumer purchases carbon credits from the investment manager, the investment manager handles the investment procedures. In this way, the CC consumer indirectly provides funds to environmental conservation projects. For example, a CC consumer who wants to contribute to "forest conservation" purchases carbon credits to invest in environmental conservation projects related to "forest conservation." In this way, they indirectly provide funds to "forest conservation."

In this way, by purchasing carbon credits with investment, CC consumers can promote the reduction of carbon dioxide (hereinafter referred to as "CO2") emissions, which is the original function of carbon credits, while also investing in environmental conservation projects, thereby making a greater contribution to society.

Furthermore, a portion of the profits from the environmental conservation business in which the CC consumer invests is returned to the CC consumer. The profits can be in the form of money or goods (for example, harvested mushrooms). The return of profits motivates the purchase of carbon credits with investment. The return of profits will be described in more detail later.

When the investment manager purchases carbon credits, they may purchase them directly from CC producers, but here we will show an example of purchasing them via a CC exchange. The investment manager looks at the sell orders for carbon credits published on the CC exchange and purchases the carbon credits that he likes. The investment manager selects and purchases the carbon credits that his client, the CC consumer, prefers.

For example, if the investment manager determines that there is a high level of interest among general consumers or CC consumers in reducing CO2 emissions through "plant cultivation", he or she will purchase carbon credits generated through "plant cultivation". The sales or price of carbon credits may be affected depending on how carbon dioxide emissions are reduced. By purchasing carbon credits generated through "plant cultivation", CC consumers can appeal to general consumers that they are contributing to the plant cultivation business. In this way, CC consumers can contribute to environmental protection in the way they wish, by investing in the method of generating carbon credits and the purchase price of the carbon credits.

In accordance with the above, the flow of transactions in the first embodiment will be summarized.
- Phase 1: CC producers, as sellers of carbon credits, place sell orders for carbon credits on the CC exchange.
- Phase 2: The CC Exchange will make public the sell orders received from CC producers.
Phase 3: The investment manager places a buy order against the published sell order.
Phase 4: A transaction is concluded on the CC exchange and carbon credits are transferred from the CC producer to the investment manager.
Phase 5: The investment manager will match the carbon credits with investment projects for environmental conservation businesses and sell them as carbon credits with investment.
Phase 6: CC consumers view information on the inventory of carbon credits with investments sold by the investment manager (hereinafter referred to as "inventory information") and purchase carbon credits with investments.
Phase 7: A portion of the purchase price received from CC consumers is invested in environmental conservation projects.
Phase 8: CC consumers become owners of carbon credits and also funders of environmental conservation projects. A "funder" is someone who indirectly provides funds to an investment project by purchasing carbon credits with investment.
- Phase 9: Profits earned through environmental conservation projects are returned to CC consumers.
- Phase 10: CC consumers can offset their carbon emissions with the carbon credits they own and reduce the surcharge.

The exchange server 400 in the figure is used at the CC exchange. The environmental investment management device 100 is used for the activities of the investment manager. The exchange server 400 and the environmental investment management device 100 provide web pages that display various screens. CC producers use producer terminals 500, CC consumers use user terminals 200, and environmental conservation businesses use business device 600. The producer terminals 500, user terminals 200, and business device 600 each have a browser for viewing web pages, and a mailer for receiving, creating, and sending email. The producer terminals 500, user terminals 200, and business device 600 are, for example, smartphones or personal computers. Emails are sometimes used as a means of various notifications.

The settlement device 800 of the bank system is used as a settlement means between the CC exchange, investment manager, CC producer, CC consumer, environmental conservation business operator, etc. Specifically, remittance is made by debiting or crediting from a bank account using the settlement device 800. The CC producer, investment manager, and CC consumer register their bank account numbers in advance with the environmental investment management device 100 and the settlement device 800. In addition, users such as CC producers are identified by user IDs such as registration numbers. The settlement means may be debiting or crediting between financial institutions, debiting or paying by credit card or electronic money, or remittance by virtual currency using a blockchain. The exchange server 400, producer terminal 500, environmental investment management device 100, user terminal 200, business operator device 600, and settlement device 800 can be connected to each other via the Internet 102.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the environmental investment management device 100. As shown in FIG.
The environmental investment management device 100 includes a storage 312 as a non-volatile memory that stores computer programs, a volatile memory 304 that expands programs and data, and a processor 300 (CPU: Central Processing Unit) that has built-in registers, an arithmetic unit, an instruction decoder, etc., and reads and executes programs from the memory 304. The processor 300 is connected to a relatively high-speed first bus 302. In addition to the memory 304, a NIC (Network Interface Card) is connected to the first bus 302. In addition to this, other devices such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) may also be connected to the first bus 302.

The first bus 302 is connected to a relatively slow second bus 310 via a bridge 308. In addition to storage 312, output devices 316 such as a monitor or speaker are connected to the second bus 310. Input devices 314 such as a mouse or keyboard, and peripheral devices 318 such as a printer may also be connected to the second bus 310.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the environmental investment management device 100 in the first embodiment.
Each component of the environmental investment management device 100 is realized by hardware including computing units such as a CPU and various co-processors, storage devices such as memory and storage, and wired or wireless communication lines connecting them, and software stored in the storage devices and supplying processing instructions to the computing units. The computer program may be composed of device drivers, an operating system, various application programs located at higher layers than these, and libraries that provide common functions to these programs.
The blocks described below are not hardware-based configurations but functional blocks. The same applies to a user terminal (FIG. 6) and an environmental investment management device 100 (FIG. 19) in the second embodiment, which will be described later.

The environmental investment management device 100 includes a communication unit 120 , a data storage unit 124 , and a data processing unit 122 .
The communication unit 120 is responsible for communication processing with devices such as the exchange server 400, the producer terminal 500, the user terminal 200, the business device 600, and the settlement device 800. The data storage unit 124 stores various information. The data processing unit 122 executes various processes based on the data acquired by the communication unit 120 and the data stored in the data storage unit 124. The data processing unit 122 also functions as an interface between the communication unit 120 and the data storage unit 124.

The communication unit 120 includes a transmission unit 126 and a reception unit 128. The transmission unit 126 transmits various data to an external device. The reception unit 128 receives various data from an external device.
The transmission unit 126 includes an inventory transmission unit 130 and a progress reporting unit 132. The inventory transmission unit 130 transmits inventory information of carbon credits to the user terminal 200. The progress reporting unit 132 transmits progress reports of the invested business to purchasers of the carbon credits associated with the business.

The data processing unit 122 includes an inventory management unit 140 , a payment processing unit 142 , an investment management unit 144 , a condition management unit 146 , a profit distribution unit 148 , and a business management unit 150 .
The inventory management unit 140 manages inventory information of carbon credits held by the investment manager. The settlement processing unit 142 executes settlement, for example, by sending various instructions to the settlement device 800. The investment management unit 144 manages investment funds in environmental conservation businesses. The condition management unit 146 manages conditions desired by CC consumers for the purchase of carbon credits. The profit distribution unit 148 distributes profits obtained from the environmental conservation businesses in which the investment is made to purchasers (for example, CC consumers) of carbon credits associated with the businesses. The business management unit 150 manages business information including the type of profit expected from each environmental conservation business.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the user terminal 200.
The user terminal 200 includes a user interface processing unit 226 , a communication unit 220 , a data processing unit 222 , and a data storage unit 224 .
The user interface processing unit 226 is responsible for user interface processing such as accepting operations from an operator via a mouse or a touch panel, etc., and displaying images and outputting audio, etc. The user interface processing unit 226 includes an input unit that inputs data through user operations, and an output unit that outputs data to be provided to the operator.

The communications unit 220 is responsible for communication processing with devices such as the exchange server 400, producer terminal 500, environmental investment management device 100, business device 600, and settlement device 800. The data storage unit 224 stores various information. The data processing unit 222 executes various processes based on data input by the user interface processing unit 226, data acquired by the communications unit 220, and data stored in the data storage unit 224. The data processing unit 222 also functions as an interface for the user interface processing unit 226, the communications unit 220, and the data storage unit 224.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the data structure of the selling order database 402.
In the first phase, the sell orders submitted by the CC producers to the CC exchange are managed in a sell order database 402 of the exchange server 400. The sell order database 402 is stored in a data storage unit (not shown) of the exchange server 400.

Each record corresponds to information about one sell order (hereinafter referred to as "sell order information"). The sell order information is made public by the exchange server 400. A carbon credit purchaser (for example, an investment manager) can refer to the sell order information to search for the carbon credits they want. Note that in this embodiment, it is described as a case where a CC consumer does not purchase carbon credits directly from a CC producer, but instead purchases carbon credits with investment from an investment manager.

The selling order information includes a carbon credit ID, a reduced amount of CO2, a selling price, background information, and a seller (e.g., a CC producer). The carbon credit ID is data that uniquely identifies a carbon credit. The carbon credit ID is assigned, for example, during carbon credit authentication. The reduced amount of CO2 is the amount of carbon dioxide reduced through activities performed by the carbon credit producer. When the amount of carbon dioxide emitted is reduced, or when the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or ocean is reduced, the amount of carbon dioxide is considered to be the reduced amount of CO2. The unit of the reduced amount of CO2 is ton. For example, a carbon credit with carbon credit ID = CC101 (hereinafter, written as "carbon credit (CC101)") corresponds to a reduced amount of CO2 of 100 tons. The selling price specifies the selling price of the carbon credit desired by the seller. The unit of the selling price in this example is yen/ton. The selling price is determined by multiplying the reduced amount of CO2 by the selling price. For example, when purchasing the entire carbon credit (CC101), the amount of CO2 reduction is 100 (tons) and the unit sales price is 10,000 (yen/ton), so the sales price is 1,000,000 yen (= 100 (tons) x 10,000 (yen/ton)). The sales price of the carbon credit may be included in the selling order information. Note that when purchasing only a portion of the reduced amount of CO2, the sales price (purchase price) of the carbon credit is determined by multiplying the amount of CO2 to be purchased by the unit sales price.

The background information is information about the origins of carbon credits. The background information includes the certification body and the generation method. The certification body is the entity that certifies the amount of CO2 reduction in the carbon credit. The certification bodies for the three types of carbon credits in Figure 7 are Company X, Company Y, and Company Z.

The generation method is the method of generating carbon credits, in other words, the method of reducing the amount of CO2. The generation method is specified by a major category and a minor category. The lower part of the generation method column (for example, "renewable energy") is the major category of the generation method, and the upper part (for example, "solar power generation") is the minor category of the generation method.

The seller is the current owner of the carbon credits who wishes to sell them. In this example, the seller is the CC producer, but the seller can be anyone who purchases carbon credits, not just the CC producer.

For example, the carbon credit (CC101) in the first record is a carbon credit that has been certified by CC producer "Company H" as having reduced carbon dioxide by "100 (tons)" by using "solar power generation," a type of "renewable energy," and there is a sell order for the unit price of "10,000 (yen/ton)." Any buyer can purchase the entire amount of carbon credit (CC101) by placing a buy order for this sell order and paying 1,000,000 yen.

FIG. 8(A) is a diagram showing a sell order inquiry screen.
This screen is for inquiring about the sell orders published by the CC exchange in the second phase (hereinafter referred to as the "sell order inquiry screen"). The sell order inquiry screen is generated by the exchange server 400 and sent to the buyer's device such as the environmental investment management device 100.

The investment manager operates the sell order inquiry screen displayed on the display of the environmental investment management device 100. On this screen, the investment manager enters the desired conditions for purchasing carbon credits (hereinafter referred to as "desired purchase conditions") and makes an inquiry to the exchange server 400.

The investment manager (an example of a buyer) can specify a major category of production method as one of the desired purchase conditions. The exchange server 400 searches for sell orders that match the specified major category of production method. In this example, the investment manager selects "renewable energy" in order to find carbon credits generated from "renewable energy," which is preferred by his client, the CC consumer.

The investment manager can specify a purchase price [yen/ton] as one of the desired purchase conditions. Sell orders with selling prices equal to or lower than this purchase price will be searched for.

The investment manager can specify the amount of CO2 reduction [tons] as one of the desired purchase conditions. Sell orders that match the specified amount of CO2 reduction will be found. The amount of CO2 reduction may be specified within a range from an upper limit to a lower limit.

The investment manager can specify a certification authority as one of the purchase requirements. Sell orders that match the selected certification authority will be searched for.

One thing to keep in mind about certification bodies is that there may be differences in the level of screening depending on the certification body. Carbon credits from certification bodies that conduct strict screening are highly reliable and are allowed to be used in tax calculations through offsetting (carbon offsetting) without any problems. Conversely, carbon credits from certification bodies that conduct lenient screening are less reliable and may be denied offsetting by public institutions such as the National Tax Agency, or the amount of CO2 that can be offset may be reduced. For this reason, investment managers may choose a more reliable certification body, knowing that their clients will avoid less reliable certification bodies. The level of reliability may also be due to differences in the certification standards used by certification bodies.

For example, if the amount of CO2 reduction achieved by a carbon credit from a trusted certification body is 100 tons, all 100 tons will be eligible for deduction. However, if the certification body is not trusted, it is possible that only 80 tons of the 100 tons of CO2 reduction achieved by the carbon credit will be deducted. Carbon credits that are in the way of a "certification body" may go unsold or be traded at a low price. Unsold carbon credits or falling prices could lead to certification bodies being eliminated, so the principle of competition will come into play and certification bodies will strive to make improvements.

After specifying all or some of the four items above, the investment manager touches the inquiry button 404 to inquire about the sell order. The screen then moves to that of Figure 8 (B).

FIG. 8(B) is a screen diagram showing a sell order submission.
This screen is for presenting sell order information as a result of the inquiry (hereinafter, referred to as the "sell order information screen"). In the third phase, the investment manager can place a buy order for the presented sell order.

The number and details of sell orders that meet the desired purchase conditions are displayed. In the production method section, the major categories of production methods are displayed along with subcategories (for example, "solar power generation"). The investment manager can learn more specific production methods. In addition, the selling price of the carbon credit, the amount of CO2 reduction, and the certification organization are displayed as sell order information. In the example of Figure 8 (B), the carbon credit (CC101) shown in Figure 7 has been detected. Here, an example is shown in which sell order information for carbon credits that meet the AND condition of four items is displayed, but it is also possible to display sell order information for carbon credits that meet any of the four items using the OR condition of the four items.

If the investment manager wishes to search for another carbon credit, he or she touches the previous screen button 406. The screen returns to the sell order inquiry screen (Figure 8 (A)), where the desired purchase conditions can be changed and the inquiry made again.

When the investment manager purchases the carbon credits, he or she touches purchase button 408 to instruct the purchase. The purchase price is then settled, and the carbon credits are transferred from the seller (e.g., the CC producer) to the investment manager. In this way, the investment manager can select carbon credits that are likely to appeal to CC consumers, and purchase them from the CC producer.

The process of the third phase will be summarized below.
First, the investment manager operates the environmental investment management device 100 to access the exchange server 400 and obtain a sell order inquiry screen (FIG. 8(A)). The environmental investment management device 100 displays the sell order inquiry screen and accepts input of the investment manager's desired purchase conditions. The desired purchase conditions include all or part of the generation method, purchase price, amount of CO2 reduction, and certification organization.

When the investment manager instructs a sell order inquiry, the environmental investment management device 100 sends a sell order inquiry command including the desired purchase conditions to the exchange server 400. The exchange server 400 extracts sell order information for carbon credits that match the desired purchase conditions. The exchange server 400 sends a sell order information screen (Figure 8 (B)) that shows the extraction results to the environmental investment management device 100.

The environmental investment management device 100 displays the received sell order information screen, and the investment manager views the contents of the sell order published on the CC exchange. When the investment manager gives an instruction to purchase, the transmission unit 126 transmits a purchase application including the carbon credit ID to be purchased to the exchange server 400.

When the exchange server 400 receives the purchase application and the buying and selling transaction is concluded, it notifies the environmental investment management device 100 that the transaction has been concluded. The settlement processing unit 142 of the environmental investment management device 100 processes the settlement. At this time, the environmental investment management device 100 sends an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer the purchase price from the investment manager's account to the CC exchange's account.

The exchange server 400 confirms the deposit and processes the transfer of the carbon credits from the seller (e.g., the CC producer) to the investment manager. The ownership of the carbon credits may also be transferred by transferring the digital data of the carbon credits. The person who holds this digital data becomes the owner of the carbon credits. With this method, the uniqueness of the carbon credits is guaranteed, and measures are taken to prevent duplication of rights. In other words, the digital data on the sending side is invalidated, and only the digital data on the receiving side becomes the genuine carbon credits.

Another method of transfer would be to apply for a change in ownership of the carbon credits to a designated institution that has a registry that manages the ownership of carbon credits.

The environmental investment management device 100 newly registers the transferred carbon credit as inventory information. In the fifth phase, the investment manager adds an investment project to the newly registered carbon credit. The inventory management unit 140 registers the carbon credit in association with the investment project in the inventory information. The investment manager then puts the carbon credit with the investment on sale. The carbon credit sold to CC consumers by the environmental investment management device 100 contains two types of information: "background information" and "investment destination."

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the data structure of the inventory information database 104. As shown in FIG.
The inventory information database 104 collectively manages inventory information of a large number of investment-attached carbon credits that are being sold by the investment manager. The inventory information database 104 is stored in the data storage unit 124 of the environmental investment management device 100.

Carbon credits sold by the investment manager are registered in correspondence with the environmental conservation projects in which they are invested. A portion of the purchase price of carbon credits by CC consumers becomes investment funds for environmental conservation projects. The investment manager carries out the procedures to invest a portion of the purchase price in environmental conservation projects. By having the investment manager carry out the investment procedures, CC consumers who purchase carbon credits indirectly provide funds to environmental conservation projects.

The inventory information includes the carbon credit ID, the amount of CO2 reduction, the selling price, background information, and the investment business. The carbon credit ID, the amount of CO2 reduction, and background information are the same as the contents set in the sell order information obtained from the CC exchange (Figure 7). The background information may include both or only one of the carbon credit certification organization and the carbon credit generation method. The inventory management unit 140 uses the inventory information database 104 to manage the background information as part of the carbon credit inventory information.

The sales price is determined by the investment manager. The sales price of carbon credits with investment (= CO2 reduction x sales price) includes the investment. The carbon credit (CC101) shown in the first record has a sales price of 11,000 yen/ton, of which 1,000 yen/ton is the investment. Therefore, the investment amount when the entire amount of carbon credits (CC101) is purchased is 100 (tons) x 1,000 (yen/ton) = 100,000 yen.

The investment target business is specified by the business name, business ID, and category. The business name and business ID (in parentheses) are shown above the investment target business column, and the category is shown below. Various environmental conservation businesses, such as forest conservation businesses, are registered in advance in the environmental investment management device 100. The business management section 150 of the environmental investment management device 100 assigns a business ID to each environmental conservation business.

For example, the first record in the inventory information database 104 corresponds to the carbon credit (CC101) in the first record in the sell order database 402 shown in FIG. 7. The investment manager purchases this carbon credit, adds "Thinning of Forest A" (B01) as the investment destination, and sets the selling price at "11,000 (yen)" taking into account the investment amount. Note that "Thinning of Forest A" belongs to the "forest conservation" category.

The investment project that is associated with the investment project is set by the investment manager. In the example of the second record, the investment manager has focused on the marine environment and paired the investment project "removal of marine plastics from Bay B" with carbon credits produced by "creating seaweed beds." In this way, the investment manager can add investment conditions that take into account the environmental awareness of CC consumers, and increase the purchasing motivation of CC consumers.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing the inventory inquiry screen.
This screen is used to inquire about the stock of investment-attached carbon credits that the investment manager put on sale in the sixth phase (hereinafter referred to as the "stock inquiry screen"). The stock inquiry screen is generated by the environmental investment management device 100 and sent to the user terminal 200. The CC consumer (an example of a user) operates the stock inquiry screen displayed on the display of the user terminal 200. The CC consumer enters the desired purchase conditions on this screen and makes an inquiry to the environmental investment management device 100. The conditions that the CC consumer desires for the purchase of carbon credits are also referred to as "desired purchase conditions", just like in the case of the investment manager.

As with the sell order inquiry screen (Figure 8 (A)), CC consumers can specify the generation method, purchase price, amount of CO2 reduction, and certification organization as their desired purchase conditions. In addition, the inventory inquiry screen allows them to specify the investment target business.

As mentioned above, CC consumers can specify the category of the investment business as one of the conditions for their purchase. Carbon credit inventory that matches the specified investment business category is searched for. In this example, the CC consumer is looking to find carbon credits to invest in businesses related to "forest conservation," and has selected "forest conservation."

After specifying all or some of the above five items, the CC consumer touches the inquiry button 112 to inquire about the sell order. The screen then moves to that of Figure 10 (B).

In addition, if the CC consumer touches the condition registration button 110 after inputting the desired purchase conditions on the inventory inquiry screen, the specified desired purchase conditions will be registered. By registering the conditions, if a newly registered carbon credit matches the desired purchase conditions, the CC consumer will be automatically notified.

Specifically, when the condition registration button 110 is touched, the user terminal 200 transmits a condition registration command including the desired purchase conditions to the environmental investment management device 100. When the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the condition registration command, the condition management unit 146 stores the desired purchase conditions associated with the user in the data storage unit 124. The desired purchase conditions managed by the condition management unit 146 specify one or more of the investment business associated with the carbon credit, the carbon credit certification organization, and the carbon credit generation method.

When the registration of the desired purchase conditions is completed, the inventory management unit 140 of the environmental investment management device 100 determines whether the carbon credit matches the registered desired purchase conditions when registering a new carbon credit. If the carbon credit matches the desired purchase conditions, the inventory transmission unit 130 notifies the user terminal 200 of the user corresponding to the desired purchase conditions of the new carbon credit registration.

In other words, when a carbon credit is newly registered in the inventory information, and the newly registered carbon credit satisfies any of the user's desired purchase conditions, the inventory transmission unit 130 notifies the user terminal that set the desired purchase conditions of the new carbon credit registration. At this time, all or part of the carbon credit inventory information (Figure 9) may be sent together. The notification may be performed by a polling method.

In this way, CC consumers who are likely to purchase newly registered carbon credits can be promptly notified of the registration of the carbon credits and encouraged to purchase them. For example, if a consumer registers that the generation method is "renewable energy" as a condition for purchase, when a new carbon credit generated from "renewable energy" is registered, the CC consumer can see the details of the carbon credit and purchase it immediately.

Similarly, if a consumer registers that the investment project is "forest conservation" as a desired purchase condition, CC consumers who receive a notification when a new carbon credit for investing in "forest conservation" is registered can immediately purchase it. In addition, if a consumer registers that the certification organization is "Company X" as a desired purchase condition, CC consumers who receive a notification when a new carbon credit certified by "Company X" is registered can immediately purchase it.

Carbon credits related to popular production methods, investment businesses, or certification organizations are easy to sell. It is convenient for CC consumers who want carbon credits with desired conditions if they have the opportunity to purchase them before they are passed on to others. It is also convenient for CC consumers in that they do not have to frequently perform operations to inquire about carbon credits. This concludes the explanation related to the condition registration button 110.

FIG. 10B is a diagram showing the inventory display screen.
We now move on to an explanation of what happens when the inquiry button 112 is touched on the screen of Fig. 10(A). When the inquiry button 112 is touched, the screen moves to Fig. 10(B). This screen is for presenting stock information of carbon credits that are on sale (hereinafter, referred to as the "stock information screen"). In the sixth phase, CC consumers can purchase carbon credits by looking at the presented stock information. The carbon credit illustrated in Fig. 10(B) corresponds to carbon credit (CC101).

The number and details of carbon credits in stock that meet the CC consumer's desired purchase conditions are displayed. The generation method, selling price, amount of CO2 reduction, and certification organization are displayed in the same way as on the sell order information screen (Figure 8 (B)). The inventory information screen also displays the business name and category of the investment target business. CC consumers can check the specific investment target business by business name (for example, "Thinning of Forest A").

If the CC consumer wishes to search for another carbon credit, he or she touches the previous screen button 114. The screen returns to the inventory inquiry screen (Fig. 10(A)), where the consumer can change the desired purchase conditions and make a new inquiry.

When the CC consumer wishes to purchase the carbon credits displayed on the screen of FIG. 10(B), he or she touches the purchase button 116 to instruct the purchase. After this, the purchase price is settled and the carbon credits are transferred from the investment manager to the CC consumer. The investment manager then carries out the procedures for investment in the environmental conservation project.

In this way, CC consumers can choose their preferred carbon credits and purchase them from the investment manager. As the wishes of CC consumers are fulfilled, the purchase of carbon credits is encouraged. Specifically, CC consumers can avoid the risks involved in carbon offsetting by selecting a certification organization, so they can make purchases with peace of mind. Furthermore, by selecting a CO2 reduction method (generation method) and an environmental conservation project, CC consumers can consciously support a specific field, which gives them a sense of satisfaction. CC consumers can also highlight their contributions to society.

For example, if a CC consumer, which is a business company, provides funds for "thinning of A Forest," the company can promote itself as "supporting the thinning of A Forest" as a social contribution, and improve its corporate image. Since it contributes to the "A Forest" region, it is easier to gain support from local residents. If people understand that the company is considerate of the local environment, it becomes easier to carry out business activities. CC consumers can feel the company's contribution to society, and the company will gain even more positive evaluations from more people.

CC consumers may also publicly announce how the purchased carbon credits are generated, for example, "I am purchasing carbon credits from forest creation." This allows them to demonstrate that they are contributing to the business profits of "forest creation."

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the data structure of the investment information 106.
In the seventh phase, a portion of the purchase price received from the CC consumer is invested in the environmental conservation business. In other words, the CC consumer becomes the fund provider, and an investment amount that is a portion of the purchase price is invested in the environmental conservation business, which is the investment target business. These investment details are managed in the investment information 106. The investment information 106 is stored in the data storage unit 124 of the environmental investment management device 100.

As shown in the figure, in the investment information 106, the investee business (business ID) is associated with the funder and the investment amount. The funder is a CC consumer who has purchased a carbon credit with an investment project attached. The investment amount is the amount allocated to the investment from the purchase price of the carbon credit.

For example, Company L purchased the carbon credit (CC101) of the first record in Figure 9 on the inventory information screen in Figure 10 (B). A condition is attached to this credit that it be invested in the thinning of Forest A (B01). In accordance with this condition, of the purchase price of 1,100,000 (yen), 100,000 (yen) was invested in the thinning of Forest A (B01). The first record in Figure 11 shows that "Company L" provided funds of "100,000 (yen)" for "thinning of Forest A" (B01) in this way.

In addition to Company L, Companies M and N have also provided 200,000 yen and 300,000 yen, respectively, to "Thinning of Forest A" (B01). In this way, we can see who is providing how much funding to each investment project.

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing the process of purchasing carbon credits with investment in the first embodiment.
The process described here corresponds to phases 6 to 8. The user (CC consumer) operates the user terminal 200 to access the environmental investment management device 100 and request an inventory inquiry. In response to this request, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits an inventory inquiry screen (FIG. 10(A)) to the user terminal 200 (S12).

The user terminal 200 displays an inventory inquiry screen (S14) and accepts input of the desired purchase conditions by the user (S16). After the user inputs the desired purchase conditions, when the user instructs an inventory inquiry (S18), the user terminal 200 transmits an inventory inquiry command including the desired purchase conditions to the environmental investment management device 100 (S20).

When the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the inventory inquiry command, the inventory management unit 140 extracts inventory information for carbon credits that meet the desired purchase conditions (S22). The inventory transmission unit 130 transmits the extracted inventory information for the carbon credits to the user terminal 200 in the display format of the inventory information screen (Figure 10 (B)) (S24). The inventory information transmitted at this time includes background information.

The user terminal 200 displays the inventory information screen (Figure 10 (B)) (S26). If the user checks the inventory information and decides to purchase, he or she touches the purchase button 116 to instruct the purchase (S28). When the purchase instruction is given, the user terminal 200 transmits a purchase command to the environmental investment management device 100 (S30). The purchase command includes a carbon credit ID indicating the item to be purchased.

When the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives a purchase command from the user terminal 200, the payment processing unit 142 executes the payment for the purchase of carbon credits (S32). At this time, the payment processing unit 142 sends an instruction to the payment device 800 to debit the purchase price from the user's account to the investment manager's account.

Once the payment process is complete, the inventory management unit 140 performs a process to transfer ownership of the carbon credits from the investment manager to the user (CC consumer) (S34). As mentioned above, the transfer method may involve transmitting digital data of the carbon credits, or it may involve applying for a change of ownership to a designated institution that holds the registry. In this way, when the carbon credits are purchased, the inventory management unit 140 transfers ownership of the carbon credits to the purchaser of the carbon credits.

Then, the investment management unit 144 allocates a portion of the purchase price of the carbon credits to investment in the environmental conservation business associated with the carbon credits (S36). The investment management unit 144 adds this investment content to the investment information 106 (FIG. 11). The total amount of investment money in the environmental conservation business increases by the amount allocated. From this point on, profits from the environmental conservation business are returned.

FIG. 13 is a data structure diagram of the business information 108.
In the ninth phase, the profits obtained by the environmental conservation business are returned to the CC consumers. The profits are money such as profits (hereinafter referred to as "profits") or goods such as harvested products (hereinafter referred to as "profit items"). When investing in an environmental conservation business that is agriculture, forestry or fishing, the profits may be the harvested products from agriculture, forestry or fishing. In that case, the profit distribution unit 148 distributes the harvested products. In particular, if the harvested products are food such as "mushrooms" or "clams", it is easy to empathize with the activities of the environmental conservation business from an everyday perspective.

The business information 108 associates an investment target business, which is an environmental conservation business, with the business operator (environmental conservation business operator) that operates the business and the type of profit expected from the business. The business information 108 is stored in the data storage unit 124 of the environmental investment management device 100.

In this example, "Thinning of Forest A" (B01) is operated by "Company U", who returns "profits". As shown in FIG. 11, companies L, M, and N provide funding for "Thinning of Forest A" (B01), so "profits" are distributed to companies L, M, and N. "Marine plastic removal from Bay B" (B02) is operated by "Company V", and "clams" are returned as a profit item. The "clams" are distributed to companies P, Q, and R based on investment information 106 (FIG. 11). "Afforestation of Mountain Range C" (B03) is operated by "Company W", and both profits and the profit item "mushrooms" are returned.

For example, in order for Company U to thin Forest A, it needs funds for the activity. Part of the funds will come from the sale of carbon credits invested in the thinning of Forest A. In other words, it can be said that the thinning of Forest A is promoted through indirect support from purchasers of carbon credits with investment.

On the other hand, thinning Forest A improves the forest environment and increases the production capacity of Forest A. For example, timber production will increase and mushroom harvests will grow. It will also increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the forest, making it possible to generate carbon credits. In this way, the results of thinning Forest A will be seen in various forms. The profits and products mentioned above are one type of result. In other words, returning the profits and products to supporters who purchase carbon credits means sharing the results of environmental activities.

In particular, returning primary products (harvested products) such as timber or mushrooms as profitable goods is an opportunity to share in the blessings of nature. Profitable goods can also be seen as a return gift from nature. If stories of how happy people were to receive mushrooms from Forest A spread on social media, it will increase momentum for environmental conservation of Forest A, and it will become easier to sell carbon credits to invest in thinning Forest A. In that sense, it is meaningful not simply for the sake of economic efficiency, but to create a trend for environmental protection.

Furthermore, the revenue may be a secondary product (e.g. dried or canned goods) that is produced by processing the primary product, or another product (e.g. handicrafts produced in the area) that is exchanged for the primary product. In this case, the local industry will also be supported.

The primary product may be converted into money or an object having monetary value (such as gift certificates, service vouchers, or electronic money) and this may be returned as revenue. The gift certificates and service vouchers may be in a form that can be transmitted as data. The transmission unit 126 may execute the return by transmitting the electronic gift certificates, service vouchers, electronic money, etc. to the user terminal 200.

Environmental conservation businesses can appeal to the appeal of their business by returning unique harvests (profit products). Furthermore, if environmental conservation businesses provide profit products that are likely to be popular with CC consumers, they can expect to see an increase in investment through the purchase of carbon credits.

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing the process of distributing profits in the first embodiment.
The process described here corresponds to the ninth phase. The environmental conservation business operator causes the business operator device 600 to transmit a profit notification to the environmental investment management device 100 (S40). The profit notification indicates the amount of profit. After the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the profit notification, the profit distribution unit 148 confirms receipt of the profit (S42). Specifically, the profit distribution unit 148 confirms that the profit has been deposited from the environmental conservation business operator into the investment manager's account in the settlement device 800.

The profit distribution unit 148 of the environmental investment management device 100 calculates the distribution amount for each fund provider (CC consumer) based on the investment information 106 (Figure 11) (S44). Specifically, the profit distribution unit 148 apportions the profits based on the ratio of investment made by each fund provider. The total investment in "Thinning of Forest A" (B01) is 600,000 yen. If the profit from this business is 120,000 yen, the distribution amount to Company L will be 120,000 yen x (100,000 yen / 600,000 yen) = 20,000 yen.

Once the amount of the distribution has been determined, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits a distribution notification indicating the respective distribution amounts to the user terminal 200 of each fund provider (S46). The revenue distribution unit 148 then pays the distributions (S48). Specifically, the revenue distribution unit 148 transmits an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer the distributions from the investment manager's account to the fund provider's (CC consumer's) account.

As a result, CC consumers receive dividends. If CC consumers purchase carbon credits that are invested in profitable businesses, they can expect to receive large dividends.

In the case of revenue items, the amount to be distributed is also determined by apportioning it based on the investment amount. The environmental conservation business operator may use only a portion of the harvest as revenue items. For example, the environmental conservation business operator may sell some of the harvested mushrooms and allocate the remainder as revenue items. A calculation unit (not shown) of the business operator device 600 calculates the amount of revenue items by subtracting the amount sold from the total amount of harvested mushrooms. Then, a transmission unit (not shown) of the business operator device 600 transmits a revenue notification including the calculated amount of revenue items to the environmental investment management device 100.

The revenue distribution unit 148 of the environmental investment management device 100 reads the quantity of revenue items from the revenue notification. The revenue distribution unit 148 of the environmental investment management device 100 apportions the quantity of revenue items based on the investment amount of each fund provider based on the investment information 106 (Figure 11).

Once the quantity of items to be distributed has been determined, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits a distribution notification indicating the quantity of each item to be distributed to the user terminal 200 of each fund provider. The transmission unit 126 then sends a shipping instruction for the distributed items to the business operator device 600. The shipping instruction for the distributed items includes the pick-up location of each fund provider (CC consumer) and the quantity of the distributed items. The environmental conservation business operator ships the distributed items in accordance with the shipping instruction.

The investment manager may arrange for delivery. In that case, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits a delivery request for the distributed items to the delivery company's device. The delivery request for the distributed items includes the shipping location (the location of the environmental conservation business operator) and the receiving location (the location of the CC consumer).

At this time, the investment manager may request not only delivery but also packaging. In this case, the transmission unit 126 transmits a request for packaging to the delivery company's device. The request for packaging includes the quantity of items to be distributed to each CC consumer. The requested delivery company packs and transports the specified quantity of items to be distributed to each CC consumer.

In addition to the method of knowing the amount and quantity of revenue through a revenue notification as described above, the amount of revenue or the quantity of revenue items may be calculated based on biodiversity. In other words, when investing in a land, ocean, or atmospheric environment improvement project, the revenue distribution unit 148 may determine the revenue according to the degree of improvement in biodiversity that accompanies the investment.

　Land, oceans and the atmosphere are the environments in which many living organisms, including humans, can live. With regard to the atmosphere in particular, environmental improvement projects are being carried out to reduce greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane). Another important issue is countering air pollution caused by nitrogen oxides and suspended particulate matter emitted from diesel vehicles and other sources. Recently, as a measure against global warming, there have been attempts to lower the temperature of the entire planet by artificially generating rain and clouds. As the effects of climate change extend beyond national borders, global-scale measures are necessary.

Specifically, the business operator device 600 transmits a biodiversity report to the environmental investment management device 100. The biodiversity report includes indicators such as the number of species of wild birds living in an area or the number of species of fish living in a water area. The biodiversity indicator may be something other than the number of species. The business operator device 600 may analyze images of wild birds or fish captured by an observation camera to identify the species that live there and perform a process of calculating the number of species and the number of individuals. The business operator device 600 may calculate a biodiversity indicator based on the calculated number of species and the number of individuals.

When the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the biodiversity report, the revenue distribution unit 148 calculates the degree of improvement in biodiversity. For example, if the number of wild bird species increases from 10 to 12, the degree of improvement is 12/10 = 1.2. The method for calculating the degree of improvement in biodiversity may be other conventional methods.

The revenue distribution unit 148 calculates revenue based on the degree of improvement in biodiversity. For example, the revenue distribution unit 148 calculates the amount of revenue (total amount of distribution) by multiplying the base amount by the degree of improvement. The revenue here means part of the accounting profit and is the fund from which the distribution is derived. As it is part of the profit, the amount of revenue can be determined arbitrarily. The base amount may be a predetermined value or a value included in a report from the environmental conservation business operator (for example, a certain percentage of the accounting profit). If the base amount of revenue is 100,000 yen, the amount of revenue is 100,000 yen x 1.2 = 120,000 yen. The revenue distribution unit 148 calculates the distribution based on the calculated amount of revenue.

The same applies to the quantity of revenue items. The revenue distribution unit 148 calculates the quantity of revenue items (total quantity of distributed items) by, for example, multiplying the reference quantity by the degree of improvement. The revenue items referred to here are part of the harvest, the use of which can be freely decided, and refer to the portion of the harvest that is allocated for return. For example, if the reference quantity of the revenue item "clams" is 100 kg, then the quantity of revenue items is 100 kg x 1.2 = 120 kg. The reference quantity may be a predetermined value, or may be a value included in a report from the environmental conservation business operator (for example, a certain percentage of the total harvest quantity).

In this way, if the profits that are the result of environmental conservation activities are evaluated from the perspective of biodiversity, CC consumers will be able to more easily experience environmental improvements. If CC consumers see an increase in profits from the investment of their purchased carbon credits, they will be able to recognize that the investment they were involved in has produced results in environmental conservation and improved biodiversity. For example, CC consumers who purchase carbon credits to invest in forest conservation will feel that they have helped enrich forests.

According to the first embodiment described above, when CC consumers buy carbon credits, they can also invest in environmental conservation projects. This will lead to increased activity in environmental conservation projects. CC consumers can also contribute to society in terms of both promoting CO2 reduction through the use of carbon credits and improving the environment through environmental conservation projects.

CC consumers can consciously choose the method of generating carbon credits or the environmental conservation projects they invest in, and thus support them. Because CC consumers can receive dividends or distributions on the profits of environmental conservation projects, they can more easily get a sense of their investment in environmental conservation projects, which increases their enthusiasm for investing. CC consumers can choose the certification organization, which reduces the risks associated with carbon offsets.

Modifications of the first embodiment are given below.
[Modification 1]
In the first embodiment, the carbon credit can be selected by specifying the carbon credit generation method, the investment target business, and the certification organization, but the carbon credit can also be selected by specifying the profit product. For example, if a CC consumer wants "mushrooms," he or she can select a carbon credit that distributes "mushrooms."

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a screen for inventory inquiry in the first modification.
This screen image shows a continuation of the inventory inquiry screen shown in FIG. 10(A). For each investment target business category (e.g., "forest conservation"), the profit items (e.g., "mushrooms" and "beef") that can be obtained from environmental conservation businesses that belong to that category are displayed. CC consumers can specify the type of profit on this screen. The specified type of profit becomes one of the desired purchase conditions. Although not shown, the type of profit may be "profit money."

When CC consumers choose the revenue they want, they can see the carbon credits that are invested in the environmental conservation projects that distribute the revenue. Therefore, by purchasing the carbon credits, CC consumers can obtain the distribution of their desired goods.

Specifically, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the inventory inquiry screen shown in FIG. 15. The user terminal 200 displays the inventory inquiry screen, and the user (CC consumer) selects the type of revenue. When the user terminal 200 accepts the designation of the type of revenue ("mushrooms") and a touch on the inquiry button 404, an inventory inquiry command including the type of revenue is sent to the environmental investment management device 100.

When the receiver 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the inventory inquiry command, the inventory transmitter 130 refers to the business information 108 (Figure 13) and identifies the investment business ("Afforestation of Mountain Range C" (B03)) that is associated with the specified type of profitable product ("Mushrooms").

The inventory transmission unit 130 refers to the inventory information database 104 (Figure 9) to identify the carbon credit ("CC333") that corresponds to the investment project ("Afforestation of Mountain Range C" (B03)). The inventory transmission unit 130 then transmits inventory information for the identified carbon credit to the user terminal 200. The user can check the inventory information screen (Figure 10 (B)) and purchase this carbon credit.

In addition, if the user touches the condition registration button 110 to instruct condition registration, the type of revenue can be registered as a desired purchase condition.

With variant 1, CC consumers can easily search for carbon credits that provide the revenue (distribution) they desire. The types of revenue are familiar and easy to understand, making it easy to choose the conservation projects to support.

[Modification 2]
In the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the investment manager purchases carbon credits from a CC producer, but the investment manager may also acquire carbon credits generated in an environmental conservation project in which the investment manager has made an investment.

For example, if forest conservation activities increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by forests, that amount can be certified and carbon credits can be generated. The same applies if marine conservation activities increase the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by seaweed beds. It is expected that carbon credits will be certified based on the difference between the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed after the investment and the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed before the investment, in other words, the increase in carbon dioxide absorption, as the amount of reduced CO2. The business operator device 600 may use a measuring device that measures the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or seawater to automatically measure the change in the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed due to the investment.

When the carbon credit is generated in this manner, the business operator device 600 sends an authentication notification to the environmental investment management device 100 to inform the business operator that the carbon credit has been authenticated. The authentication notification includes information about the identity of the authenticated carbon credit.

The business operator device 600 or the environmental investment management device 100 performs the process of transferring carbon credits from the environmental conservation business operator to the investment manager. As mentioned above, the transfer method may be to transmit digital data of the carbon credits, or to apply for a change of ownership to a designated institution that holds the registration ledger.

The inventory management unit 140 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the authentication notification and decides on an investment project to be associated with the authenticated carbon credit. The inventory management unit 140 then registers the inventory information of the carbon credit in the inventory information database 104 (Figure 9) and sets the investment target business. In this way, when new carbon credits generated in an investment target business of sold carbon credits are authenticated, the inventory management unit 140 registers the inventory information of the generated new carbon credits. The new carbon credits are then put on sale.

The transfer of carbon credits from the environmental conservation business to the investment manager may be for a fee or free of charge. In addition, the carbon credits transferred to the investment manager may be returned as revenue to the CC consumer who provided funds for the environmental conservation business.

Variation 2 can promote the circulation of carbon credits generated in environmental conservation projects. If they are transferred for a fee, environmental conservation projects can be supported more actively. Investment managers can easily acquire carbon credits. Returning carbon credits to CC consumers can motivate them to purchase carbon credits, further promoting investment in environmental conservation projects.

Furthermore, according to variant 2, a cyclical business model can be created by reinvesting in environmental conservation projects. In other words, when an investment manager obtains carbon credits from an environmental conservation project and sells the carbon credits by adding an investment project, the investment is made in that environmental conservation project. For example, if the amount of CO2 absorbed is increased in "thinning of forest A", the investment in "thinning of forest A" is conditioned on the carbon credits generated in this project. Then, reinvestment will further stimulate activity in "thinning of forest A". In this way, a virtuous cycle of support and activation is created for environmental conservation projects.

From the perspective of control theory, this would mean implementing positive feedback control. The environmental conservation project corresponds to the main process responsible for reducing CO2 emissions. The investment manager corresponds to the controller that assists the main process.

The input to the main process (environmental conservation business) is investment from the controller (investment manager). The main process (environmental conservation business) reduces CO2 emissions through environmental conservation activities and generates carbon credits. The output from the main process (environmental conservation business) is carbon credits and management reports.

The controller (investment manager) looks at the management report and decides whether further investment is necessary. If it is determined that reinvestment is necessary, the controller (investment manager) adds the investment in the environmental conservation business to the carbon credits and sells them to obtain investment funds. The controller (investment manager) then uses the investment funds as input to the main process (environmental conservation business). In other words, reinvestment is made in the environmental conservation business.

The main process (environmental conservation business) expands its business scale with the increased funds, increasing the amount of CO2 reduction. This in turn generates more carbon credits. The controller (investment manager) continues this cycle until the business scale of the main process (environmental conservation business) is sufficient, allowing the main process (environmental conservation business) to grow.

In addition to reducing CO2 emissions, environmental conservation businesses contribute to environmental conservation in many ways, such as removing pollution (for example, marine plastics) and improving biodiversity. If investment in environmental conservation businesses increases through the cyclical business model described above, multifaceted contributions other than CO2 reduction will also increase. Carbon credits were originally created to promote CO2 reduction. However, with the emergence of investment managers, carbon credits will develop into comprehensive environmental products that contribute to multifaceted environmental conservation in addition to CO2 reduction.

[Modification 3]
The investment manager may distribute the progress of the environmental conservation project reported by the environmental conservation business operator to the CC consumers who have invested in the project.

FIG. 16 is a screen shot of a project progress report.
This screen is a screen for presenting a progress report of the environmental conservation project (hereinafter, referred to as a "progress report screen"). The progress report screen is displayed on the user terminal 200 of a CC consumer (example of a user) who has purchased carbon credits to invest in the environmental conservation project. This CC consumer is identified as a funder in the investment information 106 (FIG. 11).

Progress reports are sent periodically, for example monthly. This example shows the progress of "Thinning of Forest A" in May. It describes the planned and actual thinning area for last month, the planned and actual thinning area for this month, and the planned thinning area for next month. CC consumers who have purchased carbon credits to invest in "Thinning of Forest A" can check how the "Thinning of Forest A" that they support is progressing.

Specifically, the business operator device 600 transmits a progress report of the environmental conservation project to the environmental investment management device 100. When the receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the progress report, the progress reporting unit 132 refers to the investment information 106 (FIG. 11) and identifies the funder (CC consumer) of the carbon credits who will invest in the project. The progress reporting unit 132 transmits the progress report of the environmental conservation project to the identified funder.

CC consumers can check the progress of environmental conservation projects, which helps them maintain an interest in the project and gives them a sense of contribution. CC consumers who receive dividends or distributed goods can see the progress and have higher expectations for the distribution. Even in cases where no distribution is received, they can feel satisfied that they are helping to protect the environment.

[Modification 4]
Although the sell order inquiry screen (FIG. 8(A)) and the stock inquiry screen (FIG. 10(A)) show an example in which a major category of generation method (e.g., "renewable energy") is selected, a subcategory of generation method (e.g., "photovoltaic power generation") may be further selected. In that case, sell orders or stock that match the specified subcategory of generation method are searched for.

The inventory inquiry screen (Figure 10(A)) shows an example in which the category of the investment project (for example, "forest conservation") is selected, but it is also possible to display a list of the names of investment projects belonging to the selected category (for example, "thinning of Forest A") on the user terminal 200 and have the user select the name of the investment project from that list. In that case, inventory matching the selected project name is found.

A person who is particularly interested in supporting "forest conservation" among the various fields of environmental conservation projects can find and purchase carbon credits to invest in the "forest conservation" category. More detailed narrowing is also possible. A person who is specifically interested in supporting the conservation of "Forest A" within the "Forest Conservation" category can find and purchase carbon credits to invest in the investment project "Thinning of Forest A." Also, a person who advocates "thinning" as a conservation activity can support conservation through "thinning" by finding and purchasing carbon credits to invest in the investment project "Thinning of Forest A."

As for the production method, the major classification of the production method can be used as the key for selecting carbon credits, or the minor classification of the production method can be used as the key for selecting carbon credits.

Variation 4 allows for flexible response to hierarchical support needs.

[Modification 5]
The investment management unit 144 may allocate the entire purchase price of the carbon credits to investment in environmental conservation projects, thereby more strongly supporting environmental conservation projects.

[Modification 6]
CC consumers are not limited to companies, but may be individuals. Also, those who purchase carbon credits with investment may not use the carbon credits for carbon offsetting. In that case, they may resell the carbon credits with investment as they are, or they may resell only the carbon credits (without investment) while retaining the right to receive a share of the profits.

[Modification 7]
If the carbon credits with investment remain unsold, the price may be reduced over time.Alternatively, the carbon credits with investment may be awarded to the CC consumer who offers the highest price in an auction format.

[Modification 8]
Regarding the distribution of the proceeds or the profits, the profit distribution unit 148 may provide the CC consumer with electronic monetary value having a settlement function in place of currency, such as electronic money or virtual currency. The profit distribution unit 148 may also provide the CC consumer with data that functions as an electronic present (such as an electronic coupon, an electronic ticket, an electronic gift certificate, or a gift exchange ticket). Furthermore, the profit distribution unit 148 may grant the CC consumer "points" that are used to discount the purchase price at a specific store or in mail order sales. The profit distribution unit 148 may provide the CC consumer with carbon credits (variation 2) generated in the environmental conservation business of the investment destination. In this way, the profit distribution unit 148 can provide electronic money, electronic tickets, corporate "points", carbon credits, etc., instead of the proceeds.

[Modification 9]
In the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the revenue notification sent from the business operator device 600 to the environmental investment management device 100 indicates the quantity of revenue items to be distributed, but the revenue distribution unit 148 may also calculate the quantity of revenue items.

For example, the revenue notification may indicate the harvest quantity of the revenue item, and the revenue distribution unit 148 may determine the quantity of the revenue item to be distributed based on the difference between the harvest quantity for the current period and the harvest quantity for the previous period. The difference may be used as the revenue item quantity as is, or a certain percentage of the difference may be used as the revenue item quantity.

For example, if mushroom harvests increase significantly, the quantity of mushrooms delivered to CC consumers will increase. If the increased production is seen as the result of environmental improvements, CC consumers will be able to know the extent of their contribution to environmental improvement based on the quantity distributed.

[Modification 10]
The investment manager may use the accumulated data of the desired purchase conditions registered by touching the condition registration button 110 shown in FIG. 10(A) for marketing of the carbon credits with investment.

The investment manager can find out what conditions are required for carbon credits by looking up the registered purchase conditions. For example, if there are many registrations of conditions with "renewable energy" as a condition, the investment manager will purchase carbon credits generated from "renewable energy." In addition, if there are many registrations of conditions with "forest conservation" as a condition, the investment manager will add a "forest conservation" investment opportunity to the carbon credits.

Specifically, the condition management unit 146 tally up the registered desired purchase conditions. For example, the condition management unit 146 calculates the number of registered conditions for generation methods that can be specified as desired purchase conditions (major category options such as "renewable energy" and "plant cultivation" or minor category options such as "solar power generation" and "seaweed bed creation"). Furthermore, the condition management unit 146 ranks the generation methods in descending order of the number of registrations (hereinafter referred to as "registration rank"). The condition management unit 146 also calculates the proportion of registered generation methods (hereinafter referred to as "registration proportion"). For example, if the total number of registered desired purchase conditions is 10, and the number of registered "renewable energy" conditions is 3, the registration proportion of "renewable energy" is 30% (= 3/10).

The condition management unit 146 then identifies a generation method that is popular with customers (for example, "renewable energy") as a recommended generation method. For example, the condition management unit 146 identifies a generation method whose number of registrations is equal to or greater than a reference number. Alternatively, the condition management unit 146 identifies a generation method whose registration ranking is the same as or higher than the reference ranking. Alternatively, the condition management unit 146 identifies a generation method whose registration ratio is equal to or greater than a reference ratio. The condition management unit 146 identifies a recommended generation method (for example, "renewable energy") based on at least one of the number of registrations of the generation method, the registration ranking, and the registration ratio.

The environmental investment management device 100 proposes to the investment manager the purchase of carbon credits generated by reducing carbon dioxide emissions using a recommended generation method (for example, "renewable energy"). Specifically, an output unit (not shown) of the environmental investment management device 100 causes a display device connected to the environmental investment management device 100 to display the recommended generation method. Alternatively, a transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended generation method to a terminal used by the investment manager. The investment manager decides which carbon credits to purchase based on the recommended generation method (for example, "renewable energy").

The environmental investment management device 100 may propose to the CC producer that carbon dioxide emissions be reduced by a recommended generation method (e.g., "renewable energy"). In that case, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended generation method to the producer terminal 500.

The same applies to items other than the generation method included in the desired purchase conditions shown in Figure 10 (A) (investment business, purchase price, amount of CO2 reduction, and certification organization).

With regard to investment businesses, the condition management unit 146 calculates all or part of the number of registered conditions, the registration rank, and the registration ratio for investment businesses that can be specified as purchase conditions (category options such as "forest conservation" and "ocean conservation" or business name options such as "thinning of forest A" and "removal of marine plastics from Bay B"). The condition management unit 146 identifies a recommended investment business (for example, "forest conservation") based on at least one of the number of registered investment businesses, the registration rank, and the registration ratio.

The environmental investment management device 100 proposes to the investment manager that an investment in a recommended investment target business (for example, "forest conservation") be added to the carbon credit. Specifically, the output unit of the environmental investment management device 100 displays the recommended investment target business on a display device, or the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended investment target business to a terminal used by the investment manager. The investment manager refers to the recommended investment target business (for example, "forest conservation") and decides which investment target business to add to the carbon credit.

With regard to certification agencies, the condition management unit 146 calculates all or part of the number of registrations, the registration rank, and the registration ratio for the certification agencies (such as "Company X" and "Company Y") specified as the desired purchase conditions. The condition management unit 146 identifies a recommended certification agency (for example, "Company X") based on at least one of the number of registrations, the registration rank, and the registration ratio of the certification agency.

The environmental investment management device 100 proposes to the investment manager the purchase of carbon credits certified by a recommended certification organization (e.g., "Company X"). Specifically, the output unit of the environmental investment management device 100 displays the recommended certification organization on a display device, or the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended certification organization to a terminal used by the investment manager. The investment manager refers to the recommended certification organization (e.g., "Company X") and decides which certification organization certified carbon credits to purchase.

The environmental investment management device 100 may propose to the CC producer that the carbon credit be certified by a recommended certification body. In that case, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended certification body to the producer terminal 500. The CC producer refers to the recommended certification body (for example, "Company X") and decides which certification body to request certification from.

Regarding the amount of CO2 reduction, the condition management unit 146 divides the amount of CO2 reduction specified as the desired purchase condition into a specified range and tallys it up. The condition management unit 146 sets categories such as 100-500 (tons) or 500-1000 (tons). The condition management unit 146 calculates all or part of the number of registrations, registration rank, and registration ratio corresponding to the category of reduced CO2 amount. The condition management unit 146 identifies the recommended category of reduced CO2 amount (for example, 100-500 (tons)) based on at least one of the number of registrations, registration rank, and registration ratio corresponding to the category of reduced CO2 amount.

The environmental investment management device 100 proposes to the investment manager that they purchase carbon credits with a CO2 reduction amount within the recommended range (e.g., 100-500 (tons)). Specifically, the output unit of the environmental investment management device 100 displays the recommended range of CO2 reduction amount (e.g., 100-500 (tons)) on a display device, or the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended range of CO2 reduction amount to a terminal used by the investment manager. The investment manager refers to the recommended range of CO2 reduction amount (e.g., 100-500 (tons)) to decide how much carbon credit for CO2 reduction to purchase.

The environmental investment management device 100 may propose to the CC producer that they generate carbon credits for a reduced amount of CO2 within a recommended category (e.g., 100-500 (tons)). In that case, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended category of reduced amount of CO2 to the producer terminal 500. The CC producer refers to the recommended category (e.g., 100-500 (tons)) to determine the amount of reduced CO2 to be certified.

With regard to the purchase price, the condition management unit 146 divides the purchase price specified as the desired purchase condition into a specified range and tallys it up. The condition management unit 146 sets categories such as 10,000 to 11,000 (yen/ton) or 11,000 to 12,000 (yen/ton). The condition management unit 146 calculates all or part of the number of registrations, registration rank, and registration ratio that correspond to the purchase price category. The condition management unit 146 identifies the recommended purchase price category based on at least one of the number of registrations, registration rank, and registration ratio that correspond to the purchase price category.

The environmental investment management device 100 proposes to the investment manager that the carbon credits be sold at a sales price within the recommended range. Specifically, the output unit of the environmental investment management device 100 displays the recommended sales price range (for example, 10,000 to 11,000 yen/ton) on the display device, or the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the recommended sales price range to the terminal used by the investment manager. The investment manager refers to the recommended sales price range (for example, 10,000 to 11,000 yen/ton) to decide how much to sell the carbon credits for.

Carbon credits are an environmental product (hereafter referred to as an "environmental product"). Because of the relationship between CC producers generating carbon credits and CC consumers consuming carbon credits, carbon credits can be bought and sold. In other words, the value of carbon credits as an environmental product is created when there are people who want to sell (generate) carbon credits and people who want to buy them. In the first embodiment, the product value is increased by adding an "investment destination" to the carbon credits. In variant example 10, the above-mentioned proposal function is used to assist the investment manager or CC producer in marketing, from the perspective of how to increase the product value of carbon credits.

For example, if it is clear from the registered purchase conditions that there are many CC consumers who wish to invest in reforestation projects in the Hida Mountains, the environmental investment management device 100 will propose to associate investment in reforestation projects in the Hida Mountains with carbon credits. If carbon credits with investment are sold in accordance with this proposal, CC consumers who wish to invest in reforestation projects in the Hida Mountains can purchase the carbon credits with investment and invest in reforestation projects in the Hida Mountains as they wish.

[Modification 11]
In the first embodiment, an example was shown in which the environmental investment management device 100 receives a biodiversity report from the business operator device 600, but the degree of improvement in biodiversity may also be evaluated in the environmental investment management device 100. In this modified example, the degree of improvement in biodiversity is evaluated in a simple manner.

Biodiversity indicates the health of an ecosystem. In other words, biodiversity results from the existence of relationships in which many animals and plants support each other's survival through the food chain. In an environment with excellent biodiversity, on the one hand there is a large variety of living organisms. On the other hand, there is a balance in the population of many living organisms. When the population is not balanced, the food chain pyramid collapses and the number of living organisms that inhabit it decreases.

It is a lot of work for researchers to actually observe a wide variety of animals and plants. In this variation, we focus on the balance of populations of specific biological species to judge the relative merits of biodiversity. In particular, we focus on the populations of birds. There are many types of wild birds, each of which feeds on different organisms. Therefore, by looking at the balance of different types of wild birds, we can infer the state of the food chain in the entire ecosystem.

First, the investment manager selects the species of wild birds to be observed. It is preferable to have more than one species, and even better to have three or more. Here, we will explain an example of measuring biodiversity in a rice-growing region. Four species of bird to be observed are sparrows, ducks, herons, and black kites, which are commonly seen in rice-growing regions.

The investment manager assumes the ideal population ratios for each type of wild bird in the rice-growing region (hereinafter referred to as "ideal population ratios"). For example, the ideal ratios for the populations of sparrows: ducks: herons: black kites are (40%:30%:20%:10%). Here, the population ratios are shown as percentages. The ideal population ratios are stored in the data storage unit 124 of the environmental investment management device 100.

The "ideal" referred to here does not have to be a level that is objectively recognized as the best. It may be a result that the investment manager subjectively thinks should be aimed for. In other words, it may be a "goal" that the investment manager can assume to be a good level. The "ideal habitat ratio" may be reviewed according to circumstances, taking into account academic knowledge or the results of environmental surveys, etc.

The investment manager sets up an observation camera on the side of a rice paddy. The camera is set up facing upwards to capture the sky. By pointing the camera upwards, it is possible to capture images of wild birds regardless of their flying altitude. In this way, the camera captures footage of the sky (a large number of still images or videos). As an example, let's say the sky footage captures the four species of wild birds mentioned above.

The receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives images of the sky from the camera by wireless communication or wired communication. The receiving unit 128 is an example of an acquisition unit (not shown) that acquires images of the sky. The acquisition unit may acquire images of the sky via a portable memory device or the like.

The image analysis unit (not shown) of the environmental investment management device 100 extracts various wild birds from the aerial footage through image analysis processing. For example, the image analysis unit uses a learning engine that has been trained using numerous images of various wild birds as teacher data to identify the various wild birds that appear in the aerial footage. The image analysis unit then calculates the total number of each type of wild bird extracted from the aerial footage (hereinafter referred to as the "number of sightings"). For example, suppose that the number of sparrows observed is 400, the number of ducks observed is 300, the number of herons observed is 100, and the number of black kites observed is 200. Note that even if wild birds other than the selected types (for example, shrikes) are captured in the footage, they are not counted.

The evaluation unit (not shown) of the environmental investment management device 100 calculates the actual ratio of the population of each type of wild bird (hereinafter referred to as the "actual population ratio"). The actual population ratio is found as the ratio of the number of observations of each type of wild bird obtained by image analysis. In this example, the actual population ratio (40%:30%:10%:20%) is found from the ratio of the number of observed sparrows: the number of observed ducks: the number of observed herons: the number of observed black kites (400:300:100:200). In this example, the proportion of herons is 10% lower and the proportion of black kites is 10% higher than the ideal. Only half the ideal number of herons live, and twice as many black kites live as the ideal. The proportion of sparrows and ducks matches the ideal.

The evaluation unit calculates the degree of approximation of the actual population ratio to the ideal population ratio. The population ratio when observing four species of wild birds can be expressed as a four-dimensional vector. In other words, the ideal population ratio is expressed by an ideal four-dimensional vector, and the actual population ratio is expressed by an actual four-dimensional vector. Specifically, the evaluation unit calculates the degree of approximation of the actual four-dimensional vector to the ideal four-dimensional vector.

Generally speaking, when observing N species of wild birds, the evaluation unit calculates the approximation of the actual N-dimensional vector to an ideal N-dimensional vector. The approximation of an N-dimensional vector can be calculated by a known method. A well-known method is to find the angle θ between both vectors in N-dimensional space and use the cosine value cosθ as the approximation. With this method, when both vectors match, the approximation has a maximum value of 1. As the degree of approximation weakens, the approximation value becomes smaller. The calculated approximation for this time is stored in the data storage unit 124. The data storage unit 124 also stores approximations obtained from past observation results.

The evaluation unit then compares the current degree of approximation with the past (mainly the previous) degree of approximation. If observations are made every year, the evaluation unit compares this year's degree of approximation with last year's degree of approximation. If the current degree of approximation is higher than the past degree of approximation, the evaluation unit determines that biodiversity has improved. If the current degree of approximation is equal to or lower than the past degree of approximation, the evaluation unit determines that biodiversity has not improved.

The evaluation unit may determine the improvement level by dividing the current approximation level by the previous approximation level. For example, if the current approximation level is 0.6 and the previous approximation level is 0.5, the improvement level is 0.6/0.5=1.2.

As described in the first embodiment, the revenue distribution unit 148 calculates the amount of revenue or the number of revenue items based on the degree of improvement in biodiversity. If the degree of improvement in biodiversity is high, the amount of revenue or the number of revenue items will be high. If the degree of improvement in biodiversity is low, the amount of revenue or the number of revenue items will be low.

The revenue distribution unit 148 may include the image analysis unit and evaluation unit described above. The image analysis unit and evaluation unit may be provided as functional blocks included in the data processing unit 122, separate from the revenue distribution unit 148.

The investment manager may report the degree of improvement in biodiversity to the environmental conservation business operator. In that case, the transmission unit 126 of the environmental investment management device 100 transmits the degree of improvement in biodiversity to the business operator device 600 of the environmental conservation business operator. The environmental conservation business operator can know that environmental improvement has progressed as a result of their activities.

The investment manager may report the degree of improvement in biodiversity to the CC consumer who is the funder. In that case, the transmission unit 126 transmits the degree of improvement in biodiversity to the user terminal 200 of the CC consumer who is the funder. The CC consumer can know that environmental improvement has progressed as a result of his or her support.

The investment manager may report the degree of improvement in biodiversity to parties other than the environmental conservation business operator and the fund provider. In this case, the transmission unit 126 transmits the degree of improvement in biodiversity to the information processing device used by the recipient of the report. This makes it possible to inform various people that environmental improvement has progressed. By publicizing the results of environmental improvement, environmental conservation business operators can carry out their business activities smoothly. In addition, it becomes easier for the investment manager to sell carbon credits with investment.

Summarize the benefits of observing wild birds.
-Wild birds fly freely over a wide area, so it is easy to capture their habitat conditions without bias even when observing a specific location.
・Wild birds can easily fly wherever they like. If there is little food where they are, they can quickly move to a place with more food. By observing wild birds, which adapt quickly to their environment, it is easy to quickly detect changes in the environment.
- Because it is an aerial shoot, it is easier than photographing wildlife in forests or underwater.
- Birds have different diets depending on their species. Sparrows are omnivorous and also eat insects. Ducks eat plant seeds and leaves. Herons eat fish and amphibians in the water. Black kites eat animal carcasses and reptiles that live in the forest. The well-balanced habitat of different bird species means that there are many organisms that serve as food for the birds. It is also evidence that there are many types of organisms that support the survival of these prey organisms. In other words, by observing the habitats of many different types of birds, it is possible to gauge the health of not only the birds but the entire ecosystem.

Considering the feeding habits mentioned above, the low number of herons in the above example may be due to the lack of small fish and frogs in the waterway. Also, the high number of black kites may be due to the deaths of many animals in the nearby forest.

This modified example provides a simple method for evaluating the degree of improvement in biodiversity over a broad range of ecosystems.

[Summary]
The first embodiment will be summarized from a business perspective.
- The investment manager purchases carbon credits in bulk from various CC producers.
・Since investment managers purchase large quantities, CC producers can produce carbon credits with peace of mind. The low risk of a shortage of demand is an advantage for CC producers.
The investment manager will purchase carbon credits that are likely to sell according to the needs of customers. CC producers will also choose production methods and certification organizations that are likely to increase sales, taking into account the circumstances of the investment manager.
・Investment managers can add value to carbon credits by adding investment destinations to the carbon credits. This added value makes it easier for investment managers to sell carbon credits and ensure profits.

By introducing the carbon credit distribution system of the first embodiment, smooth transfer of funds using carbon credits becomes possible. CC consumers can support environmental conservation by purchasing carbon credits. Carbon credits are treated as investment products for environmental improvement projects (or as certificates of environmental contributions).

　Socially, it will promote the circulation of carbon credits. If the circulation of carbon credits is promoted, the production of carbon credits will become more active. Therefore, it will be easier for CC producers to make bold investments in carbon credit production.

When CC consumers buy carbon credits, they invest in environmental conservation projects. When profits are generated from the environmental conservation projects, at least a portion of the profits is returned to the CC consumer. If the CC consumer is a company, the CC consumer may give the returned profits (for example, mushrooms) as a gift to customers or shareholders. The CC consumer may provide the profits to shareholders, for example, as a shareholder benefit. If the CC consumer gives the profits as gifts to customers and shareholders, the image of an ecological company that actively tackles environmental issues can be spread.

Let's consider why there is currently no progress in reducing carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. For example, forest development, which involves cutting down trees and expanding farmland, is still ongoing. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed continues to decrease. This trend is due to the economic benefit of agriculture, which can generate large profits. In contrast, forest conservation, such as reforestation, is useful for improving the environment, but does not have much economic benefit. In other words, corporate activity is dominated by the idea that there are more incentives for development than for nature conservation, from the perspective of economic rationality.

The first embodiment and its variants aim to weaken the aforementioned development-oriented mindset by providing economic incentives for nature conservation. There are many people around the world who fear an overemphasis on economic rationality. Such people who hold pro-nature views want to somehow help improve the environment themselves. The first embodiment and its variants create an opportunity for many people, including such people, to contribute to environmental improvement. In this way, the first embodiment and its variants contribute to promoting environmental improvement.

[Second embodiment]
The second embodiment relates to an ocean cleanup project that removes marine plastics from fishing grounds. In the second embodiment, fishermen who fish in the fishing grounds invest in the ocean cleanup project. An investment manager manages the investment from the fishermen to the marine plastic removal project.

If fishing grounds are purified through marine plastic removal projects, the environment for marine products (fish, shellfish, seaweed, etc.) to grow will improve. This will benefit fishermen as their catch will increase. Of course, the problem of marine plastic is not necessarily caused solely by fishing. Therefore, fishermen do not need to bear the costs of countermeasures alone. However, from the perspective that we are blessed by the ocean, which is a public good, we think that fishermen should take on part of the social responsibility. In this embodiment, taking into account the benefits of purifying fishing grounds, we aim to promote environmental conservation with the cooperation of many fishermen.

FIG. 17 is a system configuration diagram of the marine investment system in the second embodiment.
The environmental investment management device 100 in the figure is used for the activities of an investment manager. The environmental investment management device 100 provides a web page that displays various screens. The communication terminal 700 is used by fishermen. The communication terminal 700 has a browser and a mailer for viewing the web page. The communication terminal 700 is, for example, a smartphone or a personal computer.

The bank system's payment device 800 is used as a means of payment between fishermen, investment managers, and marine cleanup operators. The environmental investment management device 100 and the communication terminal 700 can be connected to each other via the Internet 102.

Fishermen fish in designated fishing areas. In this example, fishermen E, F, and G conduct coastal fishing in Bay D. Company E fishes in the western part of Bay D, has three fishing boats, and its usual catch is 10 tons. Company F fishes in the central part of Bay D, has six fishing boats, and its usual catch is 20 tons. Company G fishes in the eastern part of Bay D, has nine fishing boats, and its usual catch is 30 tons. In other words, the fishermen conduct fishing on different scales in different sea areas.

The investment manager collects contributions from each fisherman and uses them to fund the marine cleanup project. The marine cleanup operators use the contributions to carry out marine plastic removal activities. If more funds are obtained, marine plastic removal will become more active and the pace of cleanup within Bay D will increase. If environmental improvements are made through the cleanup, the catch will increase and the fishermen's income will increase. If this happens, the fishermen will have successfully recouped their investment.

There are many factors that contribute to the decline in fish catches, including the deterioration of the fishery environment due to marine plastic. If marine plastic is removed, it is expected that the fishery environment will improve and the catch will increase. Therefore, if the catch increases, it can be assumed that fishermen have benefited from the removal of marine plastic.

On the other hand, care must be taken to ensure that the capital contribution does not become an excessive burden for fishermen. The business circumstances of each fisherman are different. It is desirable to adjust the investment burden in accordance with the business circumstances. Therefore, the amount of investment to be made by fishermen will not be a uniform amount, but will be decided for each fisherman.

First, from the perspective of fairness, it is natural that the amount of investment should differ depending on the scale of the business. A fisherman with a large scale of business (Company G) will invest more than a fisherman with a small scale of business (Company E). However, there are problems if the amount of investment is determined based on the catch volume, simply regarding the scale of business as the catch volume. Table 1 shows an example of the catch volume.

In this example, assume that both Company F and Company G had actual catches (current catches) of 26 tons. Also assume that Company F's usual catch is 20 tons, and Company G's usual catch is 30 tons. The usual catch is the average of the catches over a specified period in the past (for example, the most recent five years).

In the case of Company F, the actual catch (catch for the current season) is greater than the normal catch. This can be considered to be due to the benefits of removing marine plastic. On the other hand, in the case of Company G, the actual catch (catch for the current season) is less than the normal catch. In other words, Company G has not benefited from the removal of marine plastic. The reason for this situation is thought to be that the improvement in the breeding environment has been remarkable in the central part of Bay D (Company F's fishing grounds), while no improvement has been made in the eastern part of Bay D (Company G's fishing grounds).

If the principle is that those who benefit most from marine plastic removal should bear the greater burden, then Company F should bear more than Company G. If the investment amount were based on the actual catch (the current period's catch), the investment amounts of both companies would be the same, which would not be appropriate. Company F has seen an increase in revenue, so an increase in the investment burden is not likely to put a strain on its management.

In the second embodiment, each fisherman plans his/her expected catch volume (hereinafter, "fishing quota") before the business season begins. The investment amount is determined based on the planned fishing quota and the actual catch volume.

FIG. 18(A) is a schematic diagram showing a fishing quota (plan).
Each fisherman predicts his/her catch for the next season and sets a catch quota (plan). For example, the usual catch amount mentioned above is set as the catch quota. Then, at the end of the current season, the catch amount (actual amount) for the current season is determined.

FIG. 18(B) is a schematic diagram showing a catch (actual result) that falls short of the catch quota (planned).
If the catch is below the quota, the benefits of removing marine plastics are considered to be small. However, even if the benefits are small, a fixed investment (hereafter referred to as "initial investment") is required because a burden will arise according to the scale of the project.

The initial capital investment is calculated by multiplying the catch quota by the standard rate. The standard rate is the amount of the initial capital investment per unit of catch. The standard rate is, for example, 100,000 yen/ton. For example, if Company F's catch quota is 20 tons and the catch is less than 20 tons, the initial capital investment is 20 tons x 100,000 yen/ton = 2,000,000 yen. In this way, if the catch does not reach the catch quota, only the initial capital investment based on the catch quota (plan) is calculated. Even if the catch falls significantly below the catch quota, the amount of the initial capital investment remains constant.

FIG. 18(C) is a schematic diagram showing the catch (actual) that exceeds the catch quota (planned).
If the catch exceeds the quota, it is considered that the benefits of removing marine plastics have been significant. In this case, in addition to the first investment, an additional investment amount (hereinafter referred to as the "secondary investment") is calculated. In other words, the sum of the first investment (fixed amount) and the secondary investment (additional amount) will be the final investment amount.

The secondary investment is calculated by multiplying the excess amount by the surcharge rate. The excess amount is determined by the catch amount minus the catch quota. The surcharge rate is the amount of secondary investment per unit catch amount. The surcharge rate is greater than the standard rate. For example, the surcharge rate is 200,000 yen/ton. If the catch quota is 20 tons and the catch amount is 26 tons, the excess amount is 26 tons - 20 tons = 6 tons. The secondary investment is 6 tons x 200,000 yen/ton = 1,200,000 yen. Therefore, the final investment is 2,000,000 yen for the primary investment + 1,200,000 yen for the secondary investment = 3,200,000 yen.

　According to this calculation method, if the catch quota is set too high, then if the catch does not reach the quota, it will be necessary to pay a large initial investment (fixed amount) that is not commensurate with the actual catch. Therefore, fishermen must be careful not to set catch quotas that are too large at the planning stage.

On the other hand, if the catch quota is set too small, fishermen will have to pay a secondary investment (additional amount) that is more expensive than the primary investment if the catch exceeds the quota. Therefore, fishermen should be careful not to set the catch quota too small at the planning stage.

In this way, fishermen will strive to set more appropriate catch quotas at the planning stage. They will also be more cautious to ensure that their actual catch does not deviate too far from the quota. In other words, this creates an incentive for fishermen to be conscious of sticking to their catch quotas. This is thought to have a positive effect in terms of stabilizing distribution volume and prices in the market, and preventing overfishing.

FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of the environmental investment management device 100 in the second embodiment.
The receiving unit 128 receives notifications of catch quotas desired by fishermen, for example, from the fishermen's communication terminals 700. The transmitting unit 126 includes a notifying unit 160. The notifying unit 160 notifies the communication terminals 700 of the fishermen of the amount of investment allocated to the fishermen.

The data processing unit 122 includes an investment management unit 144 and an investment management unit 170. The investment management unit 144 manages investments from fishermen (examples of businesses). The investment management unit 170 calculates the investments of each of the multiple fishermen based on their catch quotas and catches.

The communication terminal 700 has the same functional blocks (Figure 6) as the user terminal 200 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a sequence diagram showing the process of investment by fishermen.
Each fisherman predicts the next season's catch and determines the catch quota he desires. The communication terminal 700 transmits a notification of the catch quota to the environmental investment management device 100 (S50).

The receiving unit 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives the notification of the fishing quota and stores the fishing quota of each fisherman in the data storage unit 124.

When the business for the current period is completed and the catch of each fisherman is confirmed, the communication terminal 700 transmits the catch to the environmental investment management device 100. When the receiver 128 of the environmental investment management device 100 receives a report of the catch for the current period (an example of a specified period) from the communication terminal 700 of the fisherman (an example of a business operator) (S52), the investment management unit 170 calculates the amount of capital investment for each fisherman (S54).

Specifically, the investment management unit 170 first calculates the primary capital investment (fixed amount). Next, the investment management unit 170 determines whether the catch has exceeded the catch quota. If the catch has not exceeded the catch quota, the investment management unit 170 sets only the primary capital investment as the final capital investment amount. If the catch has exceeded the catch quota, the investment management unit 170 calculates a secondary capital investment (additional amount) according to the excess of the catch over the catch quota, and sets the sum of the primary capital investment and the secondary capital investment as the final capital investment amount. As described above, the investment management unit 170 sets the secondary capital investment (premium rate) per unit catch higher than the primary capital investment (standard rate) per unit catch.

The notification unit 160 notifies each communication terminal 700 of the calculated investment amount for each fisherman (S56). Upon receiving the notification of the investment amount, the communication terminal 700 performs a process to deposit the investment amount (S58). Specifically, the communication terminal 700 transmits an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer the investment amount from the fisherman's account to the investment manager's account.

The investment management unit 144 confirms receipt of the capital contribution (S60). Specifically, the investment management unit 144 confirms that the capital contributions from the fishermen have been deposited in the investment manager's account. The investment management unit 144 allocates the capital contributions to the investment (S62). The investment management unit 144 then passes the capital contributions to the marine cleanup business operator as investment money. Specifically, the investment management unit 144 sends an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer an amount equal to the capital contributions from the investment manager's account to the marine cleanup business operator's account. The investment management unit 144 performs similar processing for each fisherman, and allocates the capital contributions (primary and secondary capital contributions) collected from multiple fishermen to investment in the marine cleanup business.

FIG. 21 is a data structure diagram of the investment information 109.
The investment in marine plastic removal is managed as the total of the investments of multiple fishermen. The investment information 109 associates the amount of investment with each business operator (i.e., fisherman) that invests. The investment information 109 is stored in the data storage unit 124 of the environmental investment management device 100.

The investors in this example are fishermen E, F, and G, who conduct coastal fishing in Bay D. As mentioned above, E, F, and G operate in different waters and have different business scales. As shown in the figure, fisherman E has invested 1,000,000 yen, fisherman F has invested 2,600,000 yen, and fisherman G has invested 3,000,000 yen. E and G only made a first investment because their catch did not reach the catch quota. F's catch exceeded its quota, so it made a second investment of 600,000 yen in addition to its first investment of 2,000,000 yen.

If the nursery environment improves first in the center of Bay D, then Company F, whose performance has improved, will pay the secondary investment (additional amount) and bear the burden first. However, in the following period, Company F's plan will be revised, so the possibility of Company F paying the secondary investment will decrease, and the additional burden will not continue. The additional funds paid by Company F will help continue the purification of Bay D thereafter, and will promote the improvement of the nursery environment in other areas of Bay D in the following period. If the nursery environment on the east side of Bay D improves in the following period, Company G's catch will increase, and Company G will then have to pay the secondary investment. The additional investment paid by Company G will further improve the nursery environment on the west side of Bay D in the period after that, and Company E's catch will increase. Ultimately, the performance of all fishermen will improve.

In this way, we will create a system that helps fishermen who have previously benefited to produce the next benefit and supports other fishermen. By fishermen working in solidarity and taking turns supporting each other, we can find a solution to the problem of environmental improvement, which is difficult for fishermen to achieve alone. We believe that this type of system will be particularly effective in removing marine plastic, as it is difficult to achieve results simultaneously over a wide area.

Below, a modification of the second embodiment will be described.
[Modification 1]
The investment manager may carry out a bioethanol production business. The investment manager may then invest a portion of the capital contributions from fishermen in the bioethanol production business and invest the proceeds from the sale of the bioethanol in an ocean cleanup business. The bioethanol may be sold to fishermen.

Fishermen often use gasoline as fuel for their vessels. However, if they use bioethanol, they can contribute to improving the environment from a fuel perspective. Furthermore, if sales of bioethanol contribute to marine purification, fishermen will be more likely to be conscious of using bioethanol, even if it is more expensive than gasoline.

In the first modification, the investment management unit 144 manages the investment in the ocean purification project and the investment in the bioethanol production project. The capital contributions from fishermen are divided into the investment in the ocean purification project and the investment in the bioethanol production project.

The investment management unit 144 calculates a specified percentage (e.g., 20%) of the capital contributions from the fishermen and sets this as the amount of investment in the bioethanol production project. The investment management unit 144 sets the remaining amount of the capital contributions from the fishermen (e.g., 80%) as the amount of investment in the marine purification project.

The investment information 109 (Figure 21) stores the investment in the ocean cleanup project and the investment in the bioethanol production project separately. If the capital investment of Company E is 1,000,000 yen, the investment in the ocean cleanup project by Company E will be 800,000 yen, and the investment in the bioethanol production project by Company E will be 200,000 yen.

The investment management unit 144 performs the process of investing the remaining (80%) of the fishermen's capital contributions in the marine cleanup project. Specifically, the investment management unit 144 sends an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer the remaining (80%) of the capital contributions from the investment manager's account to the marine cleanup business operator's account.

The investment manager sells the bioethanol he or she has produced. The buyers may be fishermen. The investment manager then invests the sales proceeds in the ocean cleanup project. In other words, the investment management unit 144 inputs the sales proceeds of the bioethanol and allocates the sales proceeds of the bioethanol as capital investment to the investment in the ocean cleanup project. The investment manager may invest part of the sales proceeds in the ocean cleanup project and the remainder in the bioethanol production project.

Specifically, the investment management unit 144 sends an instruction to the settlement device 800 to transfer an amount equal to or less than the sales price of the bioethanol from the investment manager's account to the account of the marine cleanup business operator. Also, in the investment information 109 (FIG. 21), all or part of the sales price of the bioethanol is allocated to investment in the marine cleanup business.

In this way, in variant example 1, the investment management unit 144 allocates a portion of the capital contribution to investment in the bioethanol production business, and further allocates the sales proceeds of the bioethanol to investment in the ocean cleanup business.

Modification 1 will now be summarized from a business perspective.
- Fishers will invest in environmental improvement. Environmental improvement can be understood in a broad sense, including not only measures against marine plastic but also measures against global warming.
- The funds provided by fishermen will be used for marine environment improvement projects and bioethanol production projects.
- Marine environment improvement projects will reduce marine plastic pollution.
-CO2 emissions are reduced through the distribution and use of bioethanol produced by bioethanol production projects.
- Revenues from the sale of bioethanol will be invested in marine environment improvement activities or reinvested in the bioethanol production business.

From a public interest perspective, the benefits are that the marine environment improves and measures against global warming are promoted. Fishers benefit from an improved ecosystem in the fishing grounds, which increases their catch. Fishers can also promote the fact that they are improving the marine environment by supporting environmental improvement efforts, which can raise their image and the brand power of seafood. Marine environment improvement businesses and bioethanol production businesses can easily obtain funding.

According to variant 1, the production of bioethanol helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, if sales of bioethanol increase, it will be possible to increase investment in marine purification projects. Furthermore, it will be possible to ensure a stable supply of bioethanol for fishermen.

In the second embodiment, the purification of fishing grounds progresses, and as the catch increases, the business performance of fishermen improves. As a result, the scale of fishing expands, and the number of vessels increases, which is expected to lead to an increase in the sales volume of bioethanol. Increasing the sales volume of bioethanol will promote the marine purification project. By having the investment manager carry out the bioethanol production project, a cooperative system that includes the fishing industry and the marine purification project can be built, and a relationship of trust with fishermen can be deepened.

[Modification 2]
In the first embodiment, it has been described that fishermen predict the catch volume for the next season and set the catch quota (plan). In order to assist the fishermen in making decisions, the environmental investment management device 100 may predict the catch volume for the next season and recommend a catch quota based on the prediction result.

Specifically, the investment management unit 170 analyzes the trend in fish catches based on the changes in the fishermen's past catches, and predicts the next season's catch according to that trend. For example, if the catch increases by 5% each year, the investment management unit 170 assumes that this rate of increase will be maintained, and calculates the increase for the next season by multiplying the current season's catch by the rate of increase. The investment management unit 170 adds this increase to the current season's catch to estimate the next season's catch. The investment management unit 170 then sets the estimated catch for the next season as the recommended catch quota.

The proposal section (not shown) of the environmental investment management device 100 sends the recommended catch quota as a proposal to the fisherman's communication terminal 700. The fisherman decides on the catch quota based on the recommended catch quota. Alternatively, if the fisherman has delegated the setting of the catch quota to the investment manager, the investment management section 170 may adopt the recommended catch quota as is and set the catch quota automatically.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the spirit of the invention. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining multiple components disclosed in the above-described embodiments and modifications. In addition, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the above-described embodiments and modifications.

Claims (13)

1. an inventory management department that manages inventory information of carbon credits;
   an inventory transmission unit that transmits inventory information of carbon credits to a user terminal;
   a payment processing unit that executes payment for the carbon credits to be purchased when a carbon credit purchase request is received from the user terminal;
   An investment management department that manages investment funds;
   In the inventory information, carbon credits and businesses are registered in association with each other,
   When the carbon credits are purchased, the inventory management unit transfers ownership of the carbon credits to a purchaser of the carbon credits;
   A carbon credit distribution system in which the investment management unit allocates the purchase price of the carbon credit to investment in a business associated with the carbon credit.
2. The inventory management unit further manages the carbon credit inventory information by including background information indicating both or either one of a carbon credit certification organization and a carbon credit generation method in the carbon credit inventory information;
   The carbon credit distribution system according to claim 1 , wherein the inventory transmission unit transmits carbon credit inventory information including background information to the user terminal.
3. A condition management unit is further provided for managing desired purchase conditions that specify, for each user, one or more of an investment business associated with a carbon credit, a certification organization for the carbon credit, and a method for generating the carbon credit;
   The carbon credit distribution system of claim 2, wherein when a carbon credit is newly registered in inventory information and the newly registered carbon credit satisfies any user's desired purchase conditions, the inventory transmission unit notifies the user terminal that set the desired purchase conditions of the new registration of the carbon credit.
4. The carbon credit distribution system of claim 1 further comprising a revenue distribution unit that distributes revenues obtained from an investment target business to purchasers of carbon credits associated with the business.
5. The carbon credit distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the revenue distribution unit distributes agricultural and forestry harvests as revenue when investing in agriculture and forestry.
6. The carbon credit distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the profit distribution unit determines profits according to the degree of improvement in biodiversity resulting from an investment in a land, ocean, or atmospheric environmental improvement project.
7. A business management unit that manages, for each business, business information indicating a type of profit expected from the business,
   A carbon credit distribution system as described in any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein when a type of revenue is specified from a user terminal, the inventory transmission unit refers to the business information to identify a business associated with the specified revenue, and transmits inventory information of carbon credits associated with the identified business to the user terminal.
8. The carbon credit distribution system of claim 1, wherein the inventory management unit adds the generated carbon credit to inventory information when the generation of the carbon credit is authorized by the investee's business.
9. The carbon credit distribution system of claim 1 further comprising a progress reporting unit that transmits progress reports of a project to purchasers of carbon credits associated with the project.
10. An investment management department that manages capital contributions from businesses;
    A receiving unit that receives reports of fish catches for a predetermined period from a communication terminal of the business operator;
    an investment management unit that calculates the investment of each of the multiple businesses based on the catch of the multiple businesses;
    a notification unit that notifies the communication terminal of the carrier of the calculated investment amount,
    The investment management department allocates capital contributions from the multiple businesses to investments in ocean cleanup projects, forming an ocean investment system.
11. The receiving unit further receives a notification of a fishing quota desired by the business operator from the business operator's communication terminal,
    The investment management unit calculates a first investment according to the catch quota desired by each of the plurality of business operators, and calculates a second investment for a business operator whose catch exceeds the catch quota;
    The marine investment system according to claim 10, wherein the investment management department allocates the primary investment and secondary investment collected from business operators to investment in the marine purification project.
12. The marine investment system described in claim 11, wherein the investment management unit calculates the secondary investment according to the excess of the catch over the catch quota, and sets the secondary investment higher than the primary investment per unit catch.
13. The marine investment system according to claim 10, wherein the investment management department allocates a portion of the capital contribution to an investment in a bioethanol production business, and further allocates the sales proceeds of the bioethanol to an investment in the marine purification business.

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