“Green” initiatives bear fruit
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
Most of us know by now that eStatements and online banking and bill pay require less paper and produce less waste. However, not everyone is convinced that switching to digital versions of paper statements and bills is the best, or safest, alternative. In an effort to promote our earth-friendly (and wallet-friendly) banking choices, GHCU instituted its “Neighborhood Harvest” campaign.
To spark interest and conversation, five immature fruit trees were distributed among our five branches to live for the month of September. On October 3, the trees were planted in their permanent home at the Dakota p-patch and orchard in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. There the trees will be tended by the 30 p-patch gardeners.
It’s a win-win-win: GHCU’s members win, because our initiatives are “green” in more ways than one. Mailing paper statements costs the credit union—and its members—money. eStatements are far less expensive, and we can pass the difference back to our members in the form of better rates. Additionally, eStatements and online bill pay are more secure than their paper counterparts: mailbox theft is a leading cause of identity fraud in the United States.
The Rainier Valley community also wins. Many of the p-patch
gardeners rely on their plots to supplement their tables. Overflow fruit will be given to the surrounding community and local food banks to provide fresh produce to people who might otherwise
go without.
And the earth wins. Every member who opts for online banking, bill pay and eStatements will save around 6.6 pounds of paper, 4.5 gallons of gas and 63 gallons of wastewater every year.*
Saving the planet is hard. Saving 6.6 pounds of paper a year is easy! Information on how to sign up for online banking, bill pay and eStatements is available on our website, ghcu.org.
*Information from payitgreen.org.
I’m a self-employed person in the Baby boomer generation. I just went to my trade show, for event planners. I love going to those, because I pick up good quality pens from the hotels, nice notepads for my desk, and other promotional items. They have all switched to green products. I’ve never seen such ugly, flimsy stuff in my life. One pen was entirely green. It didn’t look like it would last a day in my purse. Some hotels are going green and not using tablecloths and tableskirts; so everyone’s legs are visible during a meeting. The new tables were all visually hard-edged and ugly. This is the framework for my comments today. To go online for all my banking tasks just takes more of MY time, not yours, and it takes more of MY effort, not yours, plus keeping track of my passwords, questions/hints, etc., which does not affect you, but it affects ME. I frequently have cash deposits; how am I supposed to get them to my GHCU account in a green fashion? I want to make sure my cash goes from my hands to the GHCU rep’s hands. And about my record keeping, if I want any kind of easy to read summary for more than one month, I have to print it out. So, YOU have transferred the paper use to ME. Of course, all of YOU like it, but I don’t. It seems that the burden for being a smart consumer has been transferred from all vendors back to ME. And all of my keeping my vendors accountable for the proper handling of my resources falls back to ME. In case of errors, whose paperwork do I rely on? Yours, online? I don’t think so. I don’t trust anyone else’s computers but my own. I’ve personaly experienced fraud, and I’ve seen enough errors in banking, funding, and other financial transactions that I like to have my printed copies of things for documentation. So, it’s back to ME printing again. I’m fine with all the printing.
Nancy,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to our post; I appreciate you adding your voice and point of view to the conversation.
I think what’s good about the option of online banking and eStatements is that it gives people the ability to do their banking in the way that works best for them. Instead of everyone receiving paper statements, now paper statements go only to those people who choose them, who genuinely prefer to have a physical statement in their hands. You can stay with paper statements if you prefer them; we’re happy to provide you with your information in the way that works best for you. Equally, we want to provide information to others in ways that work best for them, and increasingly, that’s through electronic means.
If you’re a member and you’re currently receiving your information electronically, but you’d prefer paper, please let us know and we’ll make sure you’re on the correct list. Just give us a call at 206-298-9394 or 800-562-5515.
Again, thanks for your response. Every voice makes the conversation richer!
Shannon
I have found that the online paperless banking system works very well for me. I was not keeping up with balancing my checkbook – it was a problem for years! I now pay almost all bills online, and have direct deposit for my paycheck. I still stop in at my local branch to make deposits of other funds as needed. I guess I don’t see that area as falling under the ‘green’ category. Thankfully, I have not experienced fraud or bank mistakes. I still check my statements, online, but I don’t feel a need to have them printed up every month. I save my deposit receipts, so can compare, etc. This is one area where keeping things electronic has worked very well for me.
Cindi,
I’m glad to hear that the paperless method works well for you. I find I use a combination of paper and paperless, though more and more of my financial needs are being handled online. I am chronically bad at remembering to buy stamps, so paying bills online has been a lifesaver for me! I do the same thing you do with receipts–I store them until I can compare them against my statement. It’s a good way to track my spending.
Thanks so much for your response!
Shannon