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Frequently Asked Questions
These are some of the Frequently Asked Questions relating to our service. This list will grow as the site develops. However if you cannot find the answer you are looking for click here to contact a smartlygreen.com member of staff.
Questions about the service we provide
- Why should I shop through Smartlygreen.com?
- How does the Smartlygreen.com loyalty scheme work?
- Will the items I buy cost more by shopping through Smartlygreen.com?
- How do I earn points?
- When is the cash paid to me?
- What happens once I have met my carbon footprint?
- Are there any situations where I am unable to claim my cash?
- How do I get my cash?
- How do I know how much is in my loyalty account?
- How do I calculate how much my carbon footprint is?
- How do I know how much I have to spend in order to offset my carbon footprint?
- Where do you buy the carbon offsets from?
- Aren’t you encouraging me to spend more money?
Why should I shop through Smartlygreen.com?
We believe that most people have a personal concern about the environment but are not sure how to start doing something about it. Consequently smarltygreen.com is designed for people to be rewarded every time they do their on-line shopping through us. This reward is goes into a loyalty account for you and 80% of it is used to offset your carbon footprint and 20% is returned to you in the form of cash. Once you have met your carbon footprint then 20% is used to continue buying carbon offsets and 80% is paid as cash to you. The idea is that offsetting your carbon footprint is the first step in living more in harmony with the planet. We will be introducing some tips and advice on how to live a more environmental sustainable life.
We receive commission from the retailers you shop from. Net 50% of this (after overheads, running expenses, etc.) is then converted into points and credited to you. Of this 80% is used to offset your carbon footprint and 20% will come back to you in the form of cash.
No. They will cost you exactly the same. By clicking through to the shop from the smartlygreen.com web site you will go straight through to the merchant's own site. Your sale is, as before, directly between you and the shop. We do not get involved in the transaction at all. What happens is the shop then gives us a commission because you went to their site via us. There is no extra charge to you.
You earn points by 1) doing your on-line shopping through smartlygreen.com and 2) referring a friend to smartlygreen.com
When you register with smartlygreen.com you estimate, from the guidance that we give you, a carbon footprint that is appropriate for you. We then use 80% of your loyalty points to buy tonnes of carbon from PURE to match your carbon footprint. You must earn enough points in one year to match your carbon target before you are able to be paid the 20% cash balance.
Once you have earned enough loyalty points to offset your estimated carbon footprint then two things happen:
• You are able to claim the ‘cash’ balance that you have built up in your loyalty account.
• The proportions are reversed so that 20% of your loyalty account is donated to PURE and the remaining 80% is returned to you in the form of cash.
• You are able to claim the ‘cash’ balance that you have built up in your loyalty account.
• The proportions are reversed so that 20% of your loyalty account is donated to PURE and the remaining 80% is returned to you in the form of cash.
If you do not earn enough loyalty points to offset your carbon footprint in one year then all the loyalty points you have built up are donated to PURE. At the end of the anniversary of your registration with Smartlygreen.com the ‘clock goes back to zero’ and you start to offset your estimated carbon footprint for the new year using the same 80%/20% rules that were used in year one.
Once you qualify to receive the cash from your loyalty account then this will be paid to you using ‘Paypal’. You will need to set up a ‘Paypal’ account for yourself. This will not cost you anything and is easy to do. If you don’t already have one then we will advise you on how to set one up.
Each time you log into Smartlygreen.com you will automatically be shown how much you have earned, both in tonnes of carbon and also cash.
Calculating your carbon footprint is not a very exact science and each person and household is obviously different. We have therefore created 5 sample household profiles and calculated the typical amounts of carbon that would be produced by each one.
1. Single person living in a flat – no car and no flights = about 3 tonnes
2. Single person/couple living in a flat – 1 car & 1 flight trip to Europe = about 5 tonnes
3. Couple living in a terraced house – 1 car & 1 flight to Europe = about 8 tonnes
4. Family of 2-4 living in a semi-detached house - 2 cars & 2 trips to Europe = about 11 tonnes
5. Family of 4+ living in a detached house – 2 cars, 1 flight to Europe & 1 long haul flight = about 16 tonnes
2. Single person/couple living in a flat – 1 car & 1 flight trip to Europe = about 5 tonnes
3. Couple living in a terraced house – 1 car & 1 flight to Europe = about 8 tonnes
4. Family of 2-4 living in a semi-detached house - 2 cars & 2 trips to Europe = about 11 tonnes
5. Family of 4+ living in a detached house – 2 cars, 1 flight to Europe & 1 long haul flight = about 16 tonnes
The typical profiles shown are merely indicative guides to help you choose your target. Please note that they assume the flights are round trips, the properties illustrated are reasonably modern (or have some energy efficiency improvements) and small/medium cars of average mileage.
From the above 5 profiles you can then choose the carbon figure that is the closest to your own. However we recognise that you may wish to use a different carbon target. For example you may take more flights per year than we have allowed, or drive a car with a high CO2 rating and therefore wish to use a higher target. We will therefore, in the next phase of the web site, enable you to put in a carbon tonne value that you estimate is closest to your own lifestyle instead of having to choose one of the five profiles that we have outlined.
From the above 5 profiles you can then choose the carbon figure that is the closest to your own. However we recognise that you may wish to use a different carbon target. For example you may take more flights per year than we have allowed, or drive a car with a high CO2 rating and therefore wish to use a higher target. We will therefore, in the next phase of the web site, enable you to put in a carbon tonne value that you estimate is closest to your own lifestyle instead of having to choose one of the five profiles that we have outlined.
An approximate figure is 0.5 tonne of carbon is earned for every £300 spent. We must emphasise however that this is only an approximate figure and this is for two reasons.
• Because the commission we get from retailers varies enormously
• The price of carbon offsets change.
For instance the example given above is based on the price of carbon as at 1st October 2007 and the retailers used are Boden, La Senza, John Lewis partnership, Links of London and Avon.
• Because the commission we get from retailers varies enormously
• The price of carbon offsets change.
For instance the example given above is based on the price of carbon as at 1st October 2007 and the retailers used are Boden, La Senza, John Lewis partnership, Links of London and Avon.
We chose to work with PURE the Clean Planet Trust because the organisation represents the highest quality in the industry. It is the UK’s first registered carbon offset charity and is monitored by suitably qualified Independent Trustees. All carbon offsets bought are Kyoto Protocol compliant and this is important because it offers you an assurance of unparalleled value, quality, and transparency.
That is exactly what we do not want you to do. All we want is for you to spend exactly the same amount of money as normal but shop via smartlygreen.com. We want you to start thinking about your carbon footprint, how to reduce it and hopefully to eventually change some of the things you do in order to live more in balance with the environment.