The smart way to help yourself and the planet
These days, being a responsible homeowner means more than just looking after your property, it means helping to look after the environment too.
It's incredible to consider that the energy it takes to run the average UK home (and the generation of it) is responsible for a whopping 5.5 tonnes of carbon emissions every year**. And carbon dioxide is the most significant greenhouse gas affecting our environment today.
Of course, there are plenty of things we can all do to save energy and reduce our home's carbon footprint: effective insulation or not leaving appliances on when not in use, for instance.
But now you can go one step further with Giraffe's Carbon Offset mortgage - a mortgage that not only gives you a competitive rate, but also helps you offset 5.5 tonnes of carbon emissions for every year of its special rate deal. For our current great deals, check out our Carbon Offset mortgage rates.
** Research conducted for British Gas by Best Foot Forward, based on an estimate of carbon dioxide emissions for 23 cities, February 2006. www.bestfootforward.com
How you help the environment
Put simply, when you take out a Giraffe Carbon Offset mortgage we buy up EU carbon credits on your behalf - taking them out of circulation and preventing heavily polluting companies from using them. We guarantee to do this for every year of your special rate deal.
What are Carbon credits?
Carbon credits are European Union Allowances (EUAs), which give a monetary value to the cost of emitting greenhouse gases (the cause of climate change).
All heavily polluting industries in the UK and Europe are allocated a certain number of EUAs as a way to control their carbon emissions. If they produce more emissions than they have EUAs for, they are forced to buy more - making pollution expensive.
The amount of extra EUAs available each year is capped. So, buying them up on your behalf has two positive effects. Firstly, it means a fixed number are instantly taken out of circulation and can't be used again by less environmentally responsible companies (in other words, neutralising them). Secondly, as the number of available EUAs goes down, so their price goes up (making them harder for polluting companies to buy).
Over the long term, by buying up carbon credits and offsetting them, we can use market forces to make polluting ways of working commercially unviable and, in doing so, force businesses to adopt more eco-friendly ways of working.
How you help yourself
In addition to offsetting the average home's carbon emissions for every year of your special rate deal; our Carbon Offset mortgage also gives you the option of Residential, BTL or Self Cert variants - all with very competitive rates. So you can be sure your mortgage suits your financial needs as well as you environmental conscience.
Applying made easy
Once you've done your homework and you're happy that Carbon Offsetting is the right thing for you to do - whether that's to save money, help save the environment - or do both, it's time to grab a Giraffe before it's gone.
Good news. As Giraffe is a direct mortgage provider you can get everything you need to complete your application here online - from an Illustration to a full application, by simply logging into our secure application system.
Or you can speak to one of our mortgage specialists who will be able to talk you through the next steps. Just call 0845 603 9273*.