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HSBC launches green option on current accounts

2nd July 2007 Print
HSBC has launched the UK’s first ‘green’ options for current accounts giving its customers an opportunity to cut their paper use, support a number of environmental causes and get some great green discounts.

From 2 July 2007, all existing and new HSBC Bank Account, HSBC Basic Bank Account, HSBC Plus and HSBC Premier current account customers have the option of opening, or switching to, the green option of an HSBC current account.

Customers who go green will not receive paper monthly statements, cheque books, paying-in books, letters or paper direct mail relating to their current account. HSBC is also piloting a system to allow customers to request their terms and conditions and other account documentation electronically as an alternative to providing paper copies.

In addition, a £5 donation for every account opened in the next eight weeks - until Friday 26 August - will be shared between WWF, Earthwatch and The Climate Group.

The green option also features a number of great green discounts including up to £70 savings with Ecotricity (who will provide customers with free energy-efficient light bulbs), 10 per cent off every order from the Natural Collection, 40 per cent off Ecologist magazine standard subscription and 20 per cent off first order at Goodness Direct.

HSBC’s head of current accounts, Mike Oliver, said the green current account options were developed to offer customers a straightforward way to reduce their impact on the environment.

“People are looking for ways to do their bit and reducing paper usage is a meaningful step that everyone can take. Our research2 shows that 73 per cent of people want to reduce the amount of financial paperwork they receive and electing to ‘go green’ with an HSBC current account is a simple and easy way to do just that.

“The green account option will remove around 95 per cent of the paper normally associated with a current account - 100 pages in a customer’s first year and around 80 pages every year afterwards - which could reduce an individual’s household paper waste production by around8 per cent.

“We are continually looking for ways to raise awareness of environmental issues among our staff and customers. The HSBC Green Sale in January this year was hugely successful with the UK public and supported some very important environmental causes.

“HSBC research shows that only a third of people regularly check their printed paper bank statements (34 per cent), less than a fifth (18 per cent) write cheques on a regular basis and almost half rarely, if ever, use their chequebooks (44 per cent). Just 13 per cent of people regularly use their paying-in books, and more than half (57 per cent) say they rarely or never use these at all.

“HSBC has a long-standing commitment to the environment. We recently launched the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five-year £50 million partnership scheme to combat climate change worldwide. On top of this, we have also just announced a £45 million global environmental efficiency programme to reduce further the bank’s environmental impact though initiatives such as the introduction of renewable energy technology and water and waste reduction.

“For us, this is another step on our journey towards greener banking. We already plan to extend the green bank account option to Student, Graduate and Youth accounts in the next few months and we are looking to launch more green initiatives and products going forward.”