Univé introduces ‘green driving’ with the Univé ClimaCount Visa Card
Univé encourages climate neutral motoring
Hilversum-Assen, Den Bosch, 28 Februari 2008 - RePay International, the company behind the Visa GreenCard, and insurance company Univé have signed a partnership agreement. The insurer will offer the Visa GreenCard as the ClimaCount Visa Card under the Univé brand to all its vehicle insurance customers.
With the Univé ClimaCount Visa Card, any CO2-emissions released during the production and use of products and/or services purchased, will be compensated by investment in tree planting and other environmental projects. During the first year, customers can make use of the credit without any charge. After the first year it will cost only 9.95 euros per year.
Unique CO2-compensation scheme
The ClimaCount Visa Card is not only one of the most widely accepted credit cards in the world, but it also provides a direct contribution to a cleaner environment. RePay International has linked the unique ClimaCount concept to the card. This CO2-compensation scheme calculates the level of CO2-emissions associated with the goods or services purchased. These emissions are then compensated by planting trees or by investing in clean energy, without the consumer having to pay any extra costs. The individual cardholder is able to exercise some influence on the way in which compensation takes place. For the calculation of emissions, ClimaCount Visa Card works closely with independent organizations such as CE Delft and TNO, and all operations are monitored and audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Socially-orientated business
“Green driving with the ClimaCount Visa Card fits into the framework of our policy of doing more socially-orientated business”, says Jan Dijkstra, Director of Univé Schade in Assen. “As one of the largest vehicle insurers, we are offering our customers the possibility to contribute to a better environment with this green driving concept. In fact, research has shown that by doing this we are actually meeting customer requirements. The partnership with RePay International makes it possible for us to offer the concept at very little cost. The only thing the customer has to do is to pay for any fuel with the Univé ClimaCount Visa Card. The CO2-emissions are then automatically compensated and in the end that is something that we all benefit from, says Dijkstra.
“With the ClimaCount Visa Card we can improve awareness among consumers regarding their purchases and any associated emissions”, says Patrick Bunnik, CEO of RePay International. “Each month card users receive a statement on which they can see how much each individual purchase has affected the environment and how compensation has taken place. In addition, each month it is possible for the card holder to exercise some influence on the way in which compensation takes place. We are delighted about the fact that Univé have signed a partnership agreement with us in order to provide their customers with practical help in living ‘greener’ lives. We are presently working very hard to develop more partnerships with businesses and organizations that wish to support our compensation objectives”.
RePay International and Univé are both sponsors of the Climate Woods. These are heart-shaped woods that are being planted by the Society for the Preservation of Nature in order to draw attention to climate problems. The Climate Woods represent part of a much wider climate scheme in which the Society works hard to promote the creation of robust nature reserves, the construction of climate buffers, and biomass processing.
About Univé
Univé, one of the largest insurance companies in the Netherlands, is a non-profit making cooperative association. This means that their main priority is to provide a good service to their insurance customers and not to make huge profits. Their basic principle is that their customers should profit from positive results in the form of dividend payments, reductions on premiums, and improvements in products and services. As a company providing a complete range of insurance products, Univé offers health, fire and indemnity insurance as well as life insurance and mortgages, to both private and business customers. Approx. 1.3 million insurance customers of Univé have taken out a total of about 3,7 million insurance policies to cover people and/or objects. On 1 January 2007, Univé merged with VGZ-IZA-Trias. As well as having central offices in places including Assen and Alkmaar, Univé has a network of 32 mutually independent offices with approx. 150 branches spread throughout the whole of the Netherlands.
About RePay International
RePay International is responsible for the international distribution of the ClimaCount credit card scheme and is known in the Netherlands mainly for the Visa GreenCard which is issued by Laser Cards. The company develops strategic alliances with banks, credit card companies, businesses and NGO’s who all link the concept under licence to their own credit cards. In this way, credit card companies are able to offer their customers the possibility to become CO2-neutral consumers. RePay International is working on the international introduction of ClimaCount together with professional, independent organizations such as CE Delft, PricewaterhouseCoopers and research institute TNO. RePay International is located in ’s-Hertogenbosch and in San Francisco (VS). RePay International is a subsidiary of Tendris Holding B.V., an organization which develops and supports ideas to assist companies in undertaking more socially responsible business.
For more information please contact:
Lammers van Toorenburg Benelux PR
Stella Jansen
Tel.: 030 - 65 65 070
E-mail: repay@lvtpr.nl
Univé Verzekeringen
Judith Beumer
Tel.: 0592 - 348 317
E-mail: j.beumer@unive.nl
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