In a bid to significantly reduce the use of paper, global banking group HSBC has launched its Virtual Forest campaign, whereby the firm will plant one virtual tree for every account switching off from paper statements during 2007. For every 20 virtual plants, one real tree will be planted in locations across the UK.
<p>One million HSBC customers have already opted not to receive paper statements for their current accounts, savings accounts and mortgages, saving over 13 million pieces of paper and about seven million envelopes in one year. <br /><br />Under the Virtual Forest program, HSBC and its subsidiary First Direct aim to help plant 20,000 trees in the UK. <br /><br />The campaign is a GBP100,000 sponsorship of Trees for Cities, an independent charity that works with local communities on tree planting projects, community education and training initiatives in urban areas. <br /><br />In addition to this environmentally friendly scheme, throughout January 2007, customers taking advantage of any of the discounts HSBC is offering on a range of products will also be able to support the bank's charitable efforts. For every sale product sold, HSBC will contribute GBP2 to a GBP1 million fund, which will be distributed among its charity partners.</p>