News & Events - Crescent State Bank

Pay It Green is a simple, safe, and smart way to have a positive impact on the environment!

By switching to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the average household can:(1)

Save 6.6 pounds of paper
Save 0.079 trees
Avoid use of 4.5 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements, and payments
Avoid release of 63 gallons of wastewater into the environment
Avoid producing 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

Saving this amount of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of:

The emissions avoided by not driving 169 miles
The emissions avoided by not consuming 8.8 gallons of gasoline
Planting 2 tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
Preserving 24 square feet of forestland

With many households participating, these small contributions can add up to a big benefit for the environment.

If 20 percent of households (22,876,800 households) were to switch to electronic bills, statements, and payments, every year the collective impact would:(1)

Save 150,939,615 pounds of paper
Save 1,811,275 trees
Avoid creating 1,439,601,370 gallons of wastewater
Avoid creating enough wastewater to fill 2,180 Olympic-size swimming pools
Avoid filling 8,597,328 household garbage bags with waste
Avoid filling 6,141 garbage trucks with waste
Avoid using 102,945,600 gallons of gasoline to mail bills, statements and payments
Avoid producing 3,920,802,916 pounds (1,960,402 tons) of greenhouse gas emissions

Saving this amount of greenhouse gas emissions is the equivalent of:

The emissions avoided by not driving 3,861,769,517 miles
Taking 325,722 cars off the road
The emissions avoided by not consuming 200 million gallons of gasoline
Planting 45.6 million tree seedlings and allowing them to grow for 10 years
Preserving 12,405 acres of forestland

And there are big benefits for you, too!

Reduce clutter.

The average household receives approximately 19 bills and statements and makes approximately 7 payments in paper form monthly (2).

Save time and money.

The average consumer saves 2.5 minutes per bill when paying electronically instead of with a check(3). The cost of postage and check stock can add up to more than $100 per year; these costs can be saved by making payments electronically, instead of by paper check. Also, credit scores are significantly increased when a consumer receives payments by Direct Deposit and uses Direct Payment to pay recurring monthly bills and/or save and invest automatically.

Improve security.

Consumers receiving electronic bills and statements and making payments electronically can maintain tighter control over accounts in real time. Almost 85 percent of identity theft cases are due to "offline" transactions such as lost checkbooks and stolen bills, statements, and check payments(4).

Frequently asked questions about PayItGreen

1. Project Performance Corp for the PayItGreen Alliance, 2008 | Sources:

Environmental impact estimates associated with paper reductions were made using the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator. For more information visit http://www.papercalculator.org.

Greenhouse gas emissions estimates associated with transportation of paper bills and payments were made using the World Resources Institute (WRI) Mobile Combustion CO2 Emissions Calculation Tool. For more information visit http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/service-sector.

Greenhouse gas emissions equivalency estimates were made using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. For more information visit http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html.

Statistics defining the number of paper bills, bill payments, and statements mailed in 2006 were provided by: "The Household Diary Study: Mail Use & Attitudes in FY 2006." United States Postal Service (Washington, DC: March 2007). For more information visit http://www.usps.com/householddiary/welcome.htm

2. Dove Consulting for PayItGreen, 2007

3. CheckFree, a Fiserv company

4. Javelin Strategy & Research, 2007