As the leading cooperative financial group in Luxembourg, Banque Raiffeisen’s mission is to meet the needs of its business and private clients, as well as their expectations in terms of climate protection and the environment. Committed to its core values, Raiffeisen offers a comprehensive range of sustainable products and services in line with an ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) approach in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

From March 2021, Raiffeisen will launch an innovative initiative to further highlight sustainability in its strategy and products, by introducing a new and unique range of sustainable Visa credit cards in Luxembourg. By using these new cards, Raiffeisen clients and members will make a long-term and tangible contribution to the reforestation efforts in Luxembourg and Bangladesh. 

A long-term partnership 

For every 200th transaction made with one of these new Visa credit cards, Banque Raiffeisen, in partnership with the foundation Hëllef fir d’Natur from natur&ëmwelt and the NGO Friendship Luxembourg, commits to planting a tree. The objective is ambitious: to plant at least 15,000 trees each year in Luxembourg and Bangladesh. This initiative allows Banque Raiffeisen to make an ecological contribution in Luxembourg, without neglecting the global problem. “In Luxembourg, this measure aims to eliminate the ecological damage caused by the bark beetle, a beetle which burrows under the bark of big spruce monocultures, hindering the flow of sap and thus killing trees. This is the reason for the high level of concern about the beetle,” explains Patrick Losch, chairman of the foundation Hëllef fir d’Natur from natur&ëmwelt. In Bangladesh, priority is given to the planting of mangroves, which are of vital importance in a country battling to stay above water. More generally, this action also aims to reduce CO2 and to fight the negative effects of climate change in a global way.

1,000 OPERA points for an additional tree

To increase the impact of the operation and the number of trees to be planted, each of the more than 40,000 OPERA members of the Luxembourg cooperative bank can make a personal contribution by exchanging 1,000 OPERA points for the planting of an additional tree.

A real impact on forests and ecosystems

The impact of the operation launched by Banque Raiffeisen is concrete and rapid. For example, planting 4 trees will offset 80 kilograms of CO2 (i.e. the production of a smartphone), planting 14 trees will offset 340 kilograms of CO2 (i.e. one year’s use of the Internet) and planting 48 trees will offset 1.2 tonnes of CO2 (i.e. 10,000 kilometres travelled by car).

Because taking care of the forest also means preserving the ecosystem around it, the new sustainable Visa credit cards have a new design alluding to biodiversity: a butterfly wing, a parrot feather, a flower or an agave. Available in Basic, Classic, Gold and Platinum, they offer many advantages and are adapted to individual needs. “This new range of credit cards enables Raiffeisen to raise awareness of an important issue and to offer its customers the opportunity to combat the negative effects of climate change,” says Laurent Zahles, member of the Management Board of Banque Raiffeisen. Thanks to these new cards, planting a tree and protecting the environment have never been so easy! 

Our sustainable credit cards  are easy to order

For Banque Raiffeisen customers, these Visa credit cards can be ordered by logging into R-Net online banking. People who are not yet Raiffeisen customers can order them by opening an account via the online contact form.