UK neobank Starling Bank has seemingly taken a page out of its rival bunq’s play book by pledging to plant a new tree for every successful new personal and business customer referral.
Dutch challenger bank bunq was set up in 2012 promised in June that it would plant one new tree in Madagascar for every €100 spent, hopping to have planted one million trees by February 2021.
Starling Bank’s new environmental initiative has been launched in partnership with Trillion Trees, a joint venture between BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
“We know that many of our customers care deeply about the environment,” said Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling Bank. “Our partnership with Trillion Trees will enable us to make a permanent positive change to the planet which aligns perfectly with our desire to grow sustainably.”
John Lotspeich, executive director of Trillion Trees said, “Forests are critical in combatting climate change, as habitats for countless species and for the wellbeing of millions of people. Starling’s new scheme will play an important role in our global efforts to restore forests around the world.”
To get the green ball rolling, Starling Bank will be making a one-off donation to Trillion Trees for 2,014 trees to be planted in reference to the year 2014 when the neobank’s journey began.
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