Brighter Planet - A Greener Way to Reward Credit Card Purchases
Many of us obsessively use one or two credit cards to hoard miles on our favorite airline or earn reward points for future purchases. Now, thanks to Brighter Planet you can reward Mother Earth with every purchase you make.
Brighter Planet, the brainchild of two college students and their economics professor at Middlebury College, ties carbon offset credits to credit card purchases. The interactive website lets users enter as much or as little personal information as they want and calculate their carbon footprint. The site can be updated manually, based on changes in activity and is automatically updated monthly based on carbon offsets earned using the Brighter Planet credit card.
It took me just a few minutes to set up a profile, which admittedly is not as comprehensive as other calculators available as it is based on averages by zip code and doesn’t include things like type of heating system and amount of public transportation used. But still, it’s a start.
