Biwako Bank Entices Customers to Reduce their CO2 Emissions with Higher Interest Rate

Japan's Biwako Bank in Shiga Prefecture announced on August 7, 2007, that it is offering a service to customers called "CO2 Diet Challenge Time Deposit." This is the bank's first contribution as a participant to the government-orchestrated campaign to reduce daily carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by one kilogram per person,.

Japan's Ministry of the Environment has put up a webpage, titled "Go for It! Let's Reduce Individual CO2 Emissions by 1 KG Per Day," on its Team Minus 6% campaign website, asking people to declare their personal CO2 reduction target. They are invited to check off the positive actions they pledge to practice everyday from among 39 menu items. Once the items are selected, the total amount of CO2 emissions reduction they can achieve is calculated and displayed. They can then print their reduction target on a wallet-sized card titled "My Declaration of Challenge."

When customers come in to deposit money in the bank's time deposit service and present their declaration card, which shows their CO2 reduction target exceeds one kilogram per day, the bank will apply a preferential interest rate, 0.2% higher than the current storefront display rates for the bank's "Super Time Deposit" and "Super Time Deposit 300" programs.

The bank will then donate a certain percentage of the amount deposited to the "Challenge CO2 Diet Time Deposit" to environmental conservation activities and groups related to them. This is a good example of how a bank can contribute to the region as an environment-friendly bank by financially supporting environmental conservation activities.


- Biwako Bank¡Çs Financial Services Support Environmental Activities (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/417-e
- National Campaign Aims to Reduce Individual CO2 Emissions by 1 kg per Day (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1880-e

Posted: 2007/12/12 12:07:19 PM
Japanese version