Brighten and Carbon Neutral: Cultivating a greener future together
Publication Date: Thursday, 18 January 2024
This article originally appeared in Carbon Neutral
Businesses and organisations partnering with Carbon Neutral to plant trees often employ a strategic and measurable approach to determine the number of trees they commit to planting. A common method involves tying the tree-planting initiative to a measurable metric within a business’s own operations. For instance, companies with product lines may choose to correlate the quantity of trees planted with the units of products sold. This approach serves as a low-risk strategy, mitigating the commitment to tree planting in the event of lower-than-expected sales, while allowing for increased investment and environmental benefits if sales surpass projections.
A parallel example is observed with service providers, where metrics guide the commitment to tree planting. Brighten, a notable case, exemplifies this by planting trees for every home loan settled. This metric-based approach aligns the environmental impact directly with the business’s core activities. By linking tree planting to specific measurable achievements, businesses can not only contribute to reforestation efforts but also flexibly adjust their commitment based on performance, ensuring a balanced and sustainable strategy that fosters both environmental and biodiversity benefits.
Brighten, a full-service non-bank lender in Australia, aims to reshape the lending landscape by offering innovative and effective solutions. They provide a diverse range of competitive loan products, including Full Doc, Alt Doc, and Construction loans, catering to Prime, Near Prime, Resident, and Non-Resident borrowers. Since its inception, Brighten has consistently reshaped the landscape of non-bank lending in Australia. With a mission to provide effective and innovative lending solutions, the company has facilitated the dreams of countless home-buyers, offering a diverse range of competitive loan products to various borrower profiles.
Brighten’s journey toward becoming a Carbon Neutral partner in 2021 is an inspiring narrative deeply rooted in the values of good governance, social responsibility, and sustainability. Early on, Brighten became a member of the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), showcasing its commitment to ethical practices and responsible investments—making it one of the pioneering non-bank lenders in this space.
A key aspect of Brighten’s commitment to social responsibility is the Real Giving Programme, a staff-led initiative channeling a portion of the company’s profits toward charitable causes. This program empowers Brighten’s staff to actively participate in deciding which organisations to support, fostering a culture of philanthropy within the company. Staff benefits, including extra leave for volunteer activities and a donation matching scheme, further emphasise the company’s dedication to making a positive impact.
The Journey Towards Sustainability
Brighten’s quest for sustainability led the company to explore ways to extend its impact beyond internal operations. The goal was to provide customers with an opportunity to join the journey toward a positive environmental contribution. This exploration led Brighten to Carbon Neutral’s Plant-a-Tree program — a decision that perfectly aligns with the company’s long-term commitment to environmental stewardship. What particularly resonated with Brighten was the assurance that all trees planted by Carbon Neutral are legally protected for 100 years.
The Brighten and Carbon Neutral Partnership
Through its partnership with Carbon Neutral, Brighten not only pledges to plant trees but actively promotes the Plant-a-Tree program on its platform. This collaboration goes beyond mere environmental initiatives; it underscores a shared vision of restoring biodiverse habitats and protecting Australia’s landscapes.
Brighten’s alliance with Carbon Neutral stands as a beacon of corporate responsibility and environmental stewardship. As we move forward together, we celebrate this partnership’s potential to make a lasting impact on Australia’s biodiversity and landscape. Brighten is not just reshaping non-bank lending — it’s contributing to a greener, more sustainable future for all.