Mastercard has launched a new 'sustainable' loyalty scheme

Former_MSE_Andrea

Hi all, in case you haven't seen this I thought I'd post it here. It would be interesting to see what you all think about it from an environmentally aware perspective...

I've linked to the discussion on the credit cards board so you can click to the story and read other comments.

New 'sustainable' loyalty scheme launched for Mastercard customers

Ben84

I had a good browse around their site. They do mention they have charted environmentalists involved with the choices, but I struggled to find more details. Initially I didn't think there was anything there! I eventually found them by clicking on the images of their partners, but it's not easily found as sometimes my clicking didn't open anything, so if anyone is curious, that's where it is and it helps to be persistent in clicking if it's not working.

IceRewards

MSE has kindly authorised us to post on this Forum and hopefully we can answer your questions about how we select partners on the basis of their environmental policies. Firstly, we can see from Ben84’s comment that the environmental information you were looking for wasn’t easy to find on our website. To make it easier, we have moved the “Partner Selection Criteria” to a main footer on the home page under “All Things Ice”. Also each partner has its own web page with a summary of the partner’s environmental credentials as a main tab on the page.

In a different thread (https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/73555220#Comment_73555220) it was asked whether Ice is just greenwash, which is a fair question. Firstly, we should explain that Ice is not about trying to be perfect or making people feel guilty. We want our customers to be able to do the things they enjoy, but to purchase from businesses that are making significant effort to reduce their environmental impact. All potential partners are evaluated by an Ice Chartered Environmentalist, who must follow the codes of practice of IEMA (Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) and SocEnv (The Society for the Environment). This means that all assessments must be based on objective evidence in accordance with the best principles for the mitigation of environmental harm and enhancement of environmental quality.

Good ethics are a hygiene factor for Ice. All our partners must have good ethics, for example, in relation to slave labour, child labour, working environment and animal welfare, but an ethical business with a poor environmental policy will not get into Ice.

We hope this gives an insight into how Ice chooses its partners and where you can find more detailed information. We are glad to have the opportunity to discuss our environmental mission.