Borrowers and environment benefit with green mortgages
Thu 30th Aug, 16:57:10 BST
Mortgage hunters do not necessarily have to sacrifice a good rate to appease their conscience, according to Giraffe, a mortgage providing branch of the Bank of Ireland.
Alison Pallett, managing director of personal lending UK for the bank said that carbon offset mortgages could provide a competitive rate as well as satisfying those who are concerned about their impact on the environment.
Giraffe''s Carbon Offset mortgage, launched this year, works by offsetting 5.5 tonnes worth of carbon emissions for each year of the promotional period of the mortgage, which is estimated to be the annual carbon footprint of an average household.
Ms Pallet said this kind of product was becoming increasingly popular: "We''ve had a great start to this.
"We''ve had lots of interest both from media and also from customers.
"We''ve received good levels of telephone calls about it and there''s been a fair amount of people who''ve also been buying it just based on its price as well as the fact that it is a more environmentally friendly option as well."
Earlier in the week, the Liberal Democrats also bucked the trend, by recommending green mortgages - which might offset carbon as well as offering cash to make homes more environmentally-friendly - as part of a wider set of proposals on how to halt climate change.
Other lenders also offer to plant trees or donate to environmental organisations as part of their green mortgage deals.
Alison Pallett, managing director of personal lending UK for the bank said that carbon offset mortgages could provide a competitive rate as well as satisfying those who are concerned about their impact on the environment.
Giraffe''s Carbon Offset mortgage, launched this year, works by offsetting 5.5 tonnes worth of carbon emissions for each year of the promotional period of the mortgage, which is estimated to be the annual carbon footprint of an average household.
Ms Pallet said this kind of product was becoming increasingly popular: "We''ve had a great start to this.
"We''ve had lots of interest both from media and also from customers.
"We''ve received good levels of telephone calls about it and there''s been a fair amount of people who''ve also been buying it just based on its price as well as the fact that it is a more environmentally friendly option as well."
Earlier in the week, the Liberal Democrats also bucked the trend, by recommending green mortgages - which might offset carbon as well as offering cash to make homes more environmentally-friendly - as part of a wider set of proposals on how to halt climate change.
Other lenders also offer to plant trees or donate to environmental organisations as part of their green mortgage deals.
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