If you’re concerned about the future of the environment, the chances are you’ll have taken several steps to reduce your carbon footprint.
However, execution is key to your chances of success, particularly when choosing between the use of cash or credit cards. After all, it’s reported that approximately eight million pieces of plastic waste find their way into our oceans each day, while around 15% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation.
So are credit cards really sustainable, and should you look to use these instead of cash? Let’s take a look:
How to Make your Credit Card Sustainable
Credit cards can certainly be a more sustainable choice, but much depends on how you use your plastic.
Even on a fundamental level, your credit card may be valid for many years, whereas as paper money is constantly going in and out of circulation. Worn out notes are shredded and sent to landfill sites, so using a single credit card for an extended period of time will instantly reduce your carbon footprint.
In terms of managing your account, you can also make credit cards more sustainable by eliminating the use of paper bills and receipts. Simply request that your lender sends all account statements directly to your email, while asking retailers to distribute all transaction receipts electronically.
This eliminates the use of paper and optimises the green credentials of credit cards, and if every consumer took this approach it would have an extremely positive impact on the environment.
Donate Rewards and Seek out Socially Conscious Credit Cards
If you use your credit card regularly, you’ll generate some excellent rewards and cash-back bonuses. A growing number of lenders are now allowing their customers to donate these rewards directly to a green or non-profit organisation, providing an instant boost to sustainability projects across the globe.
If this can’t be done automatically, you can organise this yourself and donate rewards to a green cause of your choice.
Similarly, a handful of banks have introduced socially conscious credit cards to the marketplace, each of which automatically donates a percentage of your total spend to environmental causes. This enables you to make a difference with every transaction that you complete and contribute directly to sustaining the environment.
The Last Word
This reflects the wider diversification of financial products, with a number of credit card alternatives available on the current market.
This evolution has certainly helped the financial services sector to become more sustainable, while also creating a diverse range of credit cards that offer green incentives to customers.