An hour on 94.7 The Pulse around the business case for fighting climate change and investing in a prosperous future for our children
With Paul Tant, Bank Australia, Alan Howell, Geelong Library and Heritage Centre, and Robert Skehan, Plastic Bag Free Victoria, in the sustainable studio on 1 June 2016, plus a short excerpt of a speech by Martin Haese, Lord Mayor of Adelaide.
Listen to The Sustainable Hour no. 124:
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Welcome to Country
The Pulse acknowledges the Wauthaurong people as the traditional custodians of the land on which this program is created and broadcasted.
About our guests in The Sustainable Hour on 1 June 2016
LISTENER SERVICE:
Content of this hour
Links, excerpts and more information about what we talked about in this Sustainable Hour
www.plasticbagfreevictoria.org
Newsletter from Geelong Sustainability:
A special offer from a bank that’s socially & environmentally responsible!
Geelong Sustainability occasionally contacts its supporters with information about a special offer with significant win-win benefits. This is such an offer with benefits for you, the environment and our Geelong Sustainability projects!
Geelong Sustainability has formed a productive relationship with Bank Australia based on our common values and mutual environmental goals. Bank Australia’s purpose is to create mutual prosperity – for its customers, the communities they live in, and the planet we all live on.
You may have met Paul Tant, their Community Development Manager, at our 2015 AGM or at a recent Green Drinks event or even perhaps during the Mountain-Mouth, M~M 2016 challenge in which he walked the entire 80 Km.
What makes Bank Australia different to other banks?
Top of our list is that Bank Australia has never and will never provide loans to the fossil fuel industry! In 2015, they were voted the Socially Responsible Mutual Institution of the Year by Money Magazine. They are also the only Australian member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, an independent network of banks and banking cooperatives with a shared mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development.
While making a profit is important to Bank Australia, they believe money should also be put to good use, creating positive social, environmental and cultural outcomes. They seek to create mutual prosperity by:
- being true to their customer owned model and always acting in the long term best interests of their customers
- investing up to 4% of their profits through the Bank Australia Impact Fund, which funds projects with meaningful positive impacts
- staying carbon neutral and contributing to a healthier planet through investments such as the Bank Australia Conservation Reserve (diagram below explains how)
- creating and keeping jobs, such as their call centre and lending centre, in regional Victoria.
The special offer!
Bank Australia is offering owner occupiers a basic home loan rate of 3.98%p.a. [1] (4.02%p.a. [2] comparison rate) – one of the most competitive rates in the market.
This offer is available to Geelong Sustainability supporters,who are interested:
- in refinancing their existing mortgage with Bank Australia, or
- in establishing a new home loan with Bank Australia.
How does Geelong Sustainability benefit?
If you shift to Bank Australia through us, Geelong Sustainability will receive a financial contribution towards our sustainability activities, projects and environmental campaigns. The financial contribution is a one-off payment of 0.4% of the value of the loan. This money comes entirely from Bank Australia and does not affect your interest rate, fees or loan structure in any way.
Interested? Read on …
As consumers, our choices make a difference and should align with our values. The divestment movement away from the big four banks is justified and growing. So consider the switch to Bank Australia, where we all benefit.
Interested in a home loan from a socially and environmentally responsible bank? Click here to find out more!
We know switching home loans isn’t the kind of thing that gets most people excited but when it can support our campaigns and save you money, it’s a big deal.
Regards,
Dan Cowdell on behalf of the Geelong Sustainability Committee
OK, what’s the fine print?
mecu Limited ABN 21 087 651 607 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence Number 238431 trading as Bank Australia. Terms and conditions, fees and charges apply.
Loans subject to normal lending criteria and approval.
[1] Rates apply to applications received from 25/05/2016 however are subject to change at anytime. Check bankaust.com.au for the latest rates. Offer available to new and existing borrowers. Excludes investment loans. For existing borrowers the new loan funds must exceed $100,000. Borrowers must transfer their full salary credit to a Bank Australia account to be eligible for the basic home loan – salary credit rate of 3.98%. For self-employed borrowers, in lieu of a salary credit a minimum $2,000 per month deposit to a Bank Australia account is required. If a full salary credit is not established the rate will be 4.10%p.a. (4.14%p.a. [2] comparison rate).
[2] The Comparison Rate is based on a loan of $150,000 for 25 years. Fees and charges may be applicable. IMPORTANT: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.
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Saving $41 million while slashing 146,397 tonnes of emissions
Lighting the West is a partnership between Wyndham, Moonee Valley, Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong City Councils to bring sustainable street lighting to the west of Melbourne. Over the past two years, the project changed 80W mercury vapour lights in residential streets to new energy efficient lights, saving 66-77 per cent of the energy used by each light. A total of 26,053 lights were changed across the municipalities. Over the next 20 years, this will save $41 million in energy and maintenance costs and 146,397 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
» Western Alliance for Greenhouse Action, WAGA – 30 May 2016:
What it takes to change a light bulb – 26,000 times
ADDITIONAL:
In other news
Our notes from this week: news stories and coming events, as well as things we happened to stumble over
“Climate change is one of the world’s biggest challenges and we need bold commitments and action to find a solution. That’s why we are going all in to transform our business, to ensure that it is fit for the future and we can have a positive impact. This includes going 100% for renewable energy, by investing in wind and solar, and converting all our lighting products to affordable LED bulbs, helping many millions of households to live a more sustainable life at home.”
~ Peter Agnefjäll, President and CEO, IKEA Group
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USA: “The plastic bag industry is losing this war”
“Already in Massachusetts, 32 towns and cities have passed bag bans or fees. So have at least 88 localities in California, including the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus cities and towns in more than a dozen other states and more than a dozen other countries.”
» Grist – 2 June 2016:
Are plastic-bag bans good for the climate?
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The Green Banks
“Meet the Green Bank, the hero of our story and a hopeless romantic who still believes in true love.”
» ThinkProgress – 17 May 2016:
Can Green Banks Turn Renewable Energy Into A Financial Attraction?
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New book: Building a circular future
» www.buildingacircularfuture.com
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Podcasts and posts about climate change
Streaming live
» The Sustainable Hour is streamed live on the Internet every Wednesday from 11am to 12pm (Melbourne time):
www.947thepulse.com – click on ‘Listen Live’
Podcast archive
Hours and hours of sustainable podcasts
Listen to all of The Sustainable Hour radio shows in full length and in selected excerpts:
» Archive on climatesafety.info
» Archive on itunes.apple.com – iPhone friendly
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At the tipping point for sustainability’s financial attraction https://t.co/r380Qb118c pic.twitter.com/qcg76kEJ7v
— The Sustainable Hour (@SustainableHour) June 5, 2016
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“Participation – that’s what’s gonna save the human race.”
Pete Seeger, American singer