A Sydney start-up has developed a simple, no cost way for Australians to be rewarded for shopping with ‘greener’ companies.
The Greener app works by reviewing a person’s spend and rewarding them for shopping with companies that have been recognised by an aggregation of independent sustainability accreditations.
Participating retailers and business groups pay a small commission for the new customers that Greener brings to them, which Greener then reinvests in initiatives to remove the emissions associated with the purchases.
Greener Co-founder Tom Ferrier said the purpose is to ensure every dollar spent is also helping to repair the planet.
“People want to be greener but don’t know where to start. So Greener makes it easy to understand their impact on the planet and then make sure it is a positive one. We guide people to genuine green businesses for everything they buy and remove the emissions of their purchase – all at no cost.”
Some of the world’s leading climate and behavioural scientists, including experts from Harvard, were engaged to build the Greener solution.
They identified more than 50 third-party accreditations to verify a brand’s green claims, spanning four initiatives: reducing emissions, reducing waste, using better materials and being a responsible business.
Retailers participating in the initial launch include Grill’d, LUSH, Koala, MJ Bale, Flora & Fauna, and Endota – with at least 50 retail partners to be onboarded over the next two months.
Grocery is also a key part of Greener’s strategy with considerable dollars spent each week in homes in this area.
To participate, retailers need to qualify through the Green brand framework with a series of assessments relating to their positive impact on carbon reduction, waste, packaging and responsible business through independent accreditations and certifications.
Professor Michael Hiscox, part of Harvard University’s Behavioural Insights Group and founder of Harvard’s STAR Lab helped construct the Greener pilot.
“That pilot produced real, in-market data to demonstrate real-world outcomes. We are now sharing this with genuine green businesses and are managing to sign partnerships faster than we expected,” said Hiscox.
“Entire economies and trillions of dollars are going to shift carbon neutral in a short period of time, and Greener provides businesses a simple way to be at the forefront of this movement.”