Being green doesn’t have to cost the earth

By: Stephen Rumbelow
Every day it seems that we see the launch of yet another eco-friendly product claiming to help tackle climate change. But is there a high price to pay for being green and are companies merely trying to cash in on consumers' interest in green issues? There’s a wide range of environmentally friendly personal finance products to choose from, including credit cards, insurance, investments and mortgages. Raising the profile of climate change is a good thing, but it’s important that you check that the latest eco-friendly product isn’t just merely an exercise to increase their profits and do very little to actually reduce climate change. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does the company have a good track record on environmental and ethical issues?
• Is it charging a premium for the product and does this translate into the best deal for the eco-friendly initiative it claims to support?
• Would you be better off shopping around to get a cheaper deal and donating the savings to an eco-friendly cause of your choice?
• Would you make a more positive contribution towards climate change by merely switching to online bank statements and putting a stop to receiving unsolicited junk mail?

How do you know if a company is ethical? Corporate Critic provides a really easy way of finding out how environmentally and socially responsible a company is. It indexes and rates the Corporate Social Responsibility records of over 50,000 companies and let you do a quick search on a company for free. Failing that, trying looking for companies’ Corporate and Social Responsibility reports on their websites. Is the product more expensive and is it worth it?

• Banking:
  • The Co-operative Bank is one of the best-known ethical and eco-friendly banks and offers a full range of banking services and products. It owns Smile, the internet bank which offers a current account paying 3.04 AER on balances of £2,500 with 90 days’ notice; whereas the Mini Cash ISA pays 4.55 of profits to environmental projects and offer discounted interest rates when customers use it to spend money on purchases deemed to be green. The APR of 14.92FPage plus 0 (variable) is less competitive than others, but it does donate 1, compared with the UK FTSE All-share which delivered 65.6 APR.
  • Norwich & Peterborough Building Society offers a range of green mortgages and plants 40 trees for every mortgage taken out. It offers a 4-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.79 APR.
  • For every year that you hold a mortgage with the Co-operative Bank, it will make a payment for to Climate Care. It has a 3-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.79 APR.
  • Check out our Mortgage best buys to compare these against the market.
  • Remember that choosing a mortgage is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever take, so do your homework first. Find out what’s right for your needs and check out all the various rates and fees.
  • When you’ve got the best deal, by all means donate some of your savings to Climate Care or go and plant some trees in your garden!

So, does it cost more to be green? Probably a bit, but you also have to ask yourself what the cost is of not doing more to reduce climate change… Plus, you can always offset the extra cost by going green and saving money:

1. Switch to online bank account and credit card statements
2. Contact the Mailing Preference Service to stop unwanted junk mail
3. Search the market for the best deal, but set up a monthly direct debit to an eco-friendly charity to pass on some of your the savings.
4. Reduce your carbon emissions by walking, cycling, using public transport or by switching to a more fuel-efficient car, cutting running costs and road tax in the process.
5. Insulate your loft to stop money literally leaking out of your house!
6. Save energy by replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones, turning off appliances, turning off lights when you’re not in the room or turning down the thermostat.
7. Save water by not running the tap when you clean your teeth, by taking showers instead of baths or installing a water butt.
8. Think before you print!

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