Bank with a company that uses your money responsibly. Bank Australia does.
As a customer-owned bank there are no shareholders to answer to. Bank Australia pursues strong ethical and social goals — exactly what I’m looking for in a bank. I’ve moved my entire banking there recently. Their rates are competitive, their interface is decent, and their customer service was great to deal with so far. Some of the products (like my credit card) are a little more expensive compared to the Big Four, but it’s just a small price I’m happy to pay for doing the right thing.
Move your Super away from fossil fuel investments. Join Future Super.
I’ve moved my Super savings from Australian Super to Future Super around three years ago now. Not only do they positively screen their investment portfolio, they also achieve above average results compared to many other funds.
Change your utility provider. Use PowerShop for electricity and Red Energy for gas.
Unfortunately, we live in a large apartment building and can’t choose our own utility companies. If you can choose freely, go with the ones above. Definitely avoid Australia’s biggest coal lobbyists: AGL, Origin, and Energy Australia.
Support environmental and political activism. Donate to GetUp and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
I’ve set up small monthly donations to each of the above non-profits. Both of them play a huge role in political campaigning and grassroots activism. Also consider donating to The Greens if you want to support their political agenda.
Pay for quality journalism. Become a paying reader of sites like The Conversation, The Monthly or Crikey.
…or any other facts-based news outlet. I’m not a huge fan of The Age/Fairfax, but I do believe they play an important role in the Australian media landscape.
Leave a comment with more ways to fight climate change. Of course, there are the obvious ones too: drive less, eat less meat, take fewer overseas holidays, etc. 😉
