Micro-investing app, Acorns Australia has signed an agreement with leading spot exchange operator for environmental commodity markets, CBL Markets, which brings carbon offsetting to the mobile-first investment platform.
Since launching in early 2016, Acorns Australia has steadily grown its user base, with over 370,000 Australians signing up to the savings and investment platform. And that user base is passionate about the environment with a recent survey of their users showing that 86% strongly believe in the dangers of climate change.
“We have a strong feedback oriented culture, regularly listening to our users to consistently evolve and improve our offering. After seeing how passionate and committed our users were about sustainability, we wanted to find a way for the Acorns community to reduce their impact on the environment if they choose too.
“As a company, we have been offsetting our carbon footprint, and we are delighted to be launching this new feature which empowers users to do the same”, said George Lucas, CEO at Acorns Australia.
Existing Acorns users can subscribe to the monthly offset program, with the cost of subscription based on the estimated average monthly carbon footprint of the user. The estimated average monthly carbon footprint is based on spending activity.
For example, if a user’s average monthly carbon footprint is half a tonne, this will cost them $3/month to offset – less than the cost of a cup of coffee.
Ben Stuart, Managing Director (Australia) at CBL Markets added “We love assisting leading sustainable operators such as Acorns Australia, and hope this initiative will encourage other businesses to consider how they can help their consumers to have a positive impact on a sustainable future”.
Acorns users are currently supporting two verified carbon projects which protect Australian forests and reduce surplus waste gas emissions in Asia.