The first banking account with an Austrian Ecolabel
The savings and giro products of the Environmental Centre of Raiffeisenbank Gunskirchen have been awarded the Austrian Ecolabel. This means that, for the first time, current and savings accounts and savingsbooks are now also certified with the Ecolabel.
Money can help transformation
No matter whether small amounts or large investments, with a green savings book, environmental current account, online savings account or sustainable fund, you can invest your money sustainably and at the same time do something for the environment or a better society.
But how can you be sure that your money is really invested ecologically and sustainably? The Austrian Ecolabel, which certifies sustainable financial products in Austria according to strict criteria, offers guidance in this respect. The Environmental Current Account, the Environmental Online Savings Account and the Environmental Savings Books of the Environmental Centre of Raiffeisenbank Gunskirchen were the first sustainable savings and giro products in Austria to be awarded the Ecolabel for sustainable financial products at the beginning of March 2020.
The deposits of the certified current accounts and savings books must be counterbalanced by eco-social projects. For example, the deposited money finances an eco-social housing project, the photovoltaic system on the roof of a regional farm or the conversion of a conventional farm to organic production through the loan granted by the Environmental Centre. So here the investment has a direct effect, and one's own savings have a positive impact in the area of climate protection and sustainability.
Yield with a clear conscience
With the Austrian Ecolabel, consumers can be confident that their money really does finance sustainable projects. Clearly, no loans for financing projects related to fossil fuels, armaments, nuclear power or genetic engineering may be granted. In addition, the projects must be of positive benefit to society and the environment. This requires clear selection criteria and strict transparency requirements so that consumers can obtain comprehensive information about financing strategies, the projects financed and, of course, the impact achieved, such as CO2 savings.
The Austrian Ecolabel defines all this in its publicly available guideline. These criteria contribute to the high credibility of the Austrian Ecolabel, as well as the fact that an expert opinion from an independent testing agency is required for certification. Another decisive factor for success is the fact that the Austrian Ecolabel is an economically independent label awarded by the national government.
Simply from all over Austria
By means of e-banking, customers throughout Austria have the possibility to easily and conveniently invest their money online from home in the Environmental Center or to carry out their daily banking transactions with the Environmental Current Account. All online investment products can be set up with the Post-Ident procedure and managed with online banking. In five simple steps, you can set up an environmental current account or an environmental online savings account:
- Announce your request by e-mail or telephone (+43(0)7246 / 7411 33123)
- The Environment Centre will send you the requested information
- Getting to know each other: personal telephone call for questions and getting to know each other
- Legitimation and opening by mail (Post-Ident-Procedure): Sending the account opening documents by mail, an employee of the post office will establish your identity by means of an identity card when taking over the account opening documents (The Post-Ident-Procedure also works in the current situation, but it may be that it is not the post office employee who carries out the identification at the front door, but due to contact restrictions it is necessary to go to the respective post office).