neon planted 1 million trees!

Zurich, 28 March 2022: Almost one year after the product launch, users of the sustainable account neon green from the Zurich-based fintech company neon have already planted over 1 million trees with their neon card. And more are being planted every day.

10 months after launch, over 1’000’000 trees already planted.

«If someone had told us in May 2021 that, thanks to our users, we would have reached the milestone of 1 million trees planted in less than one later, we wouldn’t have believed it», says Jörg Sandrock, CEO of the Zurich-based fintech company neon. Over the next few years, these trees will offset around 300’000 tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent of the annual consumption of more than 21’000 Swiss citizens.

But how does this large number of trees come about? neon users who use the sustainable smartphone account neon green plant one tree for every 100 CHF spent with their credit card. In addition, neon plants five more trees per month for all these account holders. In this way, the number of trees planted is growing rapidly. «Currently, we are able to plant around 80’000 trees per month thanks to the more than 6’000 neon green users», adds Sandrock. Since the beginning, the trees have been planted together with the non-profit organization Eden Reforestation Projects in various places around the world (e.g. Madagascar, Haiti) where trees are urgently needed for reforestation or to combat land erosion. Various studies, including one by ETH Zurich1, indicate that reforestation can make a significant contribution to limiting climate change. Currently, neon is preparing to plant trees in its own forest together with the organization. «Planting trees in a neon forest, like the search engine ecosia does, is a next step that we and our users are looking forward to», says Julius Kirscheneder, CMO at neon.

More than just trees

However, planting trees to mitigate climate change is only one component of the sustainable account. neon green users also benefit from a 3-year extended guarantee, sustainable investment opportunities and a Mastercard made of cherry wood. Together with the extremely active neon green community, the sustainable account is also being continuously developed. In the future, for example, neon wants to display the ecological footprint of individual users directly in the banking app on the basis of their transactions. The more Swiss people are convinced by the sustainable account, the faster the second million trees planted will be reached and the more positive the effect on the climate will be.

About neon

neon offers a simple, user-friendly and secure account solution in the form of an app for all smartphones. Currently, more than 100’000 customers use a neon account. neon is thus the fastest growing Swiss solution for a cost-effective and easy-to-use smartphone account. After a digital registration process in less than ten minutes, neon customers gain access to a bank account. The account is held with neon's partner Hypothekarbank Lenzburg and thus offers deposit protection of up to 100’000 CHF per user. Behind neon is an experienced team with Jörg Sandrock, Simon Youssef, Julius Kirscheneder and Patric Ammann. The company employs more than 30 people.

For further information, please refer to our website www.neon-free.chor to our co-founder / CMO Julius Kirscheneder: +41 (0) 76 200 00 15, julius.kirscheneder_at_neon-free.ch

Sources: 1) ETH Zürich (as of 14.03.2022)