Sure, you may hear about all of the ways to “go green” all year long, but seeing as April is Earth Month, what better time to start the process yourself? Going green means taking steps to reduce negative effects on the environment. While the benefits of going green are immense (cutting down on waste, saving energy, etc), many of the suggestions you hear are time-consuming, expensive, and frankly not realistic for many people. One of the easy ways to go green is through your finances with paperless banking and paperless statements. You’ll cut down on solid waste, save trees, and reduce energy usage at little to no effort or cost.

eStatements

eStatements are the paperless way to view account statements from Notre Dame FCU. Instead of receiving a paper monthly account statement from your credit union, your statement is stored as an electronic document inside of Online Banking. You simply log into your online account and you can view your current statement, as well as any from the past year. If you ever need a paper copy, just log in and print the statement you need. Opting out of receiving paper statements each month may seem like an insignificant step, but if every member of Notre Dame FCU received paperless statements, it would:

• Save 39 tons of paper, or the equivalent of 272 trees
• Reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of the amount of gases emitted from six cars in a year
• Save 233,098 gallons of water
• Save enough energy to power three homes for a year
• Eliminate 20,041 pounds of solid waste

Online Bill Pay

Paying your bills online doesn’t just save you the cost of stamps, it can also help you save the environment one monthly bill at a time! With this service, you can receive, view, and pay your bills online. This simple step can help you go green more effectively than you may think. Not only will you reduce the paper waste from the paper bill you receive, but it also cuts down on the return mailing envelopes and paper checks. 

Balance Management Tools

Using the standard paper and pen method of tracking your checking account transactions? Switch to one of the many electronic account balance management tools out there to track your spending and give up the paper check register. Notre Dame FCU offers access to your accounts with Online(link is external), Mobile(link is external), and Text Message Banking(link is external), plus apps for the iPhone and Droid(link is external).

Earth Day is Sunday, April 22 so if you’re looking to celebrate by finding a way to make an environmental impact, remember: no action is too small. Starting with paperless finances is one quick, easy way to make a difference!

By Allison Smith, eMarketing Specialist, Notre Dame FCU(link is external)

Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator. For more information, visit http://www.papercalculator.org(link is external).