Green Plastic

Credit Cards Go Green

By Jacque

I received an email advertisement recently from Citi Cards promoting “Greener Banking for a Greener Environment”. It seems that Citi has partnered with The National Arbor Day Foundation in a program to promote paperless statements. The benefits? For every person who enrolls in “Paperless Statements” Citi will donate a tree to be planted “where needed most”.

What can one tree do? According to The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, one tree absorbs more than a ton of carbon over its lifetime. That same tree provides oxygen for up to four people in one day, claims the Tree Canada Foundation. The University of Washington College of Forest Resources says that trees can reduce heating and cooling costs on a typical home by up to 12%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tells us that the net cooling effect of one tree, on the environment, is equivalent to ten air conditioners operating at 20 hours per day.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not promoting consumerism via credit card purchases. I understand that our habits of consuming need to be reformed, if we are to combat the negative effects of product packaging and distribution on our environment. Conversely, for some who are looking for an easy way to take a positive step, changing to paperless statements is a great option. It is nice to see a credit card company take it one step further. Kudos Citi.

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