Sustainability is all the buzz at the moment and that’s no surprise to us. After all,
there is no Planet B right? In fact, our research has shown that a lot of you are
already doing your bit with 85% of Australians already doing some action in the last 12 months to reduce
their impact on the environment.
Now you’ve probably already thought about cutting down on single-use plastic
or turning off the lights when you leave the house
or maybe you’re even considering going vegetarian.
Today, though, we want to give you a run down
of four unusual ways to reduce your impact that you might have not thought about before!
So first up, we're going to talk to you about - Superannuation
Now Super is something everybody has, but nobody really talks about it. But why does
your super matter for the environment? Well, I like to think of my Super
as a pile of money that is being invested on my behalf.
Now consider that a lot of super funds are investing your money in things like
fossil fuels and industries that cause deforestation. These things can be very damaging to the environment
so your superannuation investment choices can have a bigger impact than you might think.
But there is a silver lining here - switching your super has never been easier and there are some great
green options out there like Australian Ethical and Future Super. And even some of the biggest
super funds out there like Australian Super have socially conscious investment options available
Amazingly, research has shown that just 7.7% of superannuation could fund 100% renewable power
in Australia by 2030. Talk about the power of the people!
Next up - we have your energy plan The energy you use day-to-day is likely to
be one of the biggest parts of your carbon footprint, but surprisingly, our research
shows less than 10% of Australians have opted for a green energy plan
You can buy from a carbon neutral energy provider that will offset the environmental impact
of your energy usage such as late night Netflix binges.
Great options here include Powershop and Energy Locals.
Or you can opt for a plan with 'GreenPower'. This is the government scheme which puts some of the money
you pay for energy towards government-approved renewable energy productions
Many providers offer this as an option so definitely worth considering
Now when I speak to people about these green power options, there is a common misconception that these
come at a much high price but actually find that they are not as expensive as you might think
Here at Finder HQ, we recently switched our own energy plan
We opted for a carbon neutral provider and not only we are now getting greener energy but came out
20% cheaper than our old plan
Now, o the Government-backed GreenPower side of things, it’s good to know that you don’t have to go all in.
You can choose plans that have 100% green power, 50% green power or even as low as 10% green power
depending on the provider. That way it’s not breaking the bank if you’re a little strapped for cash as
our calculations show that a 10% GreenPower plan will cost the average household less than $1 a week extra
Now that's a small price to pay to help future-proof Australia.
Now we’re going to take a look at your car
There are a couple of green choices you can make here.
First, the car itself and how you buy it. When you think of going green with your car, hybrid and electric vehicles
probably spring to mind but what you probably don’t know is that buying an eco-friendly car can
actually save you money. If you’re using a car loan, some lenders such as loans.com.au will offer
a better interest rate if your car qualifies as green and that can amount to thousands
of dollars of savings over the life of the car - not to mention what you’d save in
fuel costs in a fuel efficient vehicle. Another thing to look at here is your car insurance
Now nsurance and going green aren’t two things
you’d typically put in the same basket but companies like Huddle are attempting to fix that
If you buy your car insurance through Huddle
they’ll offset 100% of the carbon emissions from driving that car
And that's pretty amazing if you ask me
Next up is the money you’re stashing away for a rainy day
If you're looking to make a little bit of money out of your extra cash, or savings,
you'll be happy to know that you can help the environment out while you're at it
First up, you have the option to save money in the world’s first Green Term Deposit
with UBank. The UBank Green Term Deposit will use your
savings to fund a portfolio of renewable energy projects such as wind farms, solar energy
and low carbon buildings. It also recently won the Green Innovation Award at the 2019
Finder Awards so you know it’s legit. And if you’re looking to build your wealth
there are now more than 50 ethical managed funds and exchange traded funds available
in Australia that you can invest in to suit your ethical criteria. Plus, there’s a growing
number of micro-investing apps such as Raiz and CommSec Pocket that have ethical fund
options to make responsible investing easier for you.
So there you have it! We hope we’ve shown you some more unusual ways to do your bit
for the environment. It could be as simple as switching your super or opting for a car insurer
that will offset your carbon emissions
If you’ve made any of these switches already or if you have some more tips on how Aussies
can go green, leave a comment below To find out more about any of the options mentioned
in the video today, check the description & if you want to find more sustainable products
then be sure to check out the section of our site Finder Green