Brighter Planet Credit Card Buys Carbon Offsets

"By paying for projects that reduce greenhouse gases, the credit card educates consumers and allows them to do something more with their rewards than purchasing airline tickets and hotel stays."
- Mindy S. Lubber, Brighter Planet Project Selection Committee

November 30, 2007 —

Bank of America is introducing a credit card that buys carbon offsets every time you use it. Instead of earning rewards points or frequent flier miles, a Brighter Planet Visa card holder earns one EarthSmart point for every dollar charged. For every 1,000 EarthSmart points a customer accumulates, enough offsets will be purchased to take one ton of carbon dioxide out of the air.

Brighter Planet is a Vermont-based company that was founded in 2005 by two students at Middlebury College. Inspired by a course they took in environmental economics, Andy Rossmeissl and Jake Whitcomb began looking for ways to found a business around the ideas they had explored that semester. Two years later, their little company has partnered with one of America's largest banks and is planning to offer a Brighter Planet checking account, although details of that plan aren't yet available.