Sign up for paperless billing and help plant ten trees…
This in via e-mail earlier today from Columbia Gas of Ohio:
Go Direct e-Bill and Go Green
Columbia Gas of Ohio, The Nature Conservancy Team to Promote Paperless Billing
Columbia Gas customers have a new opportunity to think globally and act locally through a joint effort with The Nature Conservancy.
Columbia Gas of Ohio and its parent company NiSource Inc. recently launched a campaign to encourage customers to go green in 2010. For every customer who enrolls in the company’s Direct e-Bill paperless billing service between now and April 1, 2010, Columbia Gas will contribute $10 to The Nature Conservancy to help rebuild Brazil’s Atlantic Forest through its Plant a Billion Trees program.
At $1 per tree, the contribution is equivalent to helping plant 10 trees on behalf of each customer who participates in the program. The company’s minimum contribution will be $100,000, and the maximum contribution will be $200,000. A check will be presented to The Nature Conservancy’s Ohio program on or before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, 2010.
Columbia Gas of Ohio’s free electronic billing service is a convenient way customers can manage their account while helping the environment. Instead of getting a paper bill in the mail, customers receive an e-mail notification that their Columbia Gas of Ohio bill is available to view on the company’s Web site the same day it’s rendered. The e-mail provides a link to the Web site, where customers can also pay their bill at no charge and perform other business on their account, such as signing up for the Budget Payment Plan. The e-mail notification also includes a link to electronic versions of bill inserts and other important account information.
Columbia Gas of Ohio’s partnership with The Nature Conservancy provides its customers a unique opportunity to act locally to help address the global environmental issue. According to a recent study, the average household receives approximately 19 bills and statements, and makes approximately 7 paper payments per month. Collectively, the production and transportation of those paper bills, statements and payments consume 755 million pounds of paper, 9 million trees and 512 million gallons of gasoline. Columbia Gas of Ohio customers can calculate their own financial paper footprint on the company’s Web site at ColumbiaGasOhio.com.
The Nature Conservancy’s reforestation effort to Plant a Billion Trees will restore more than 2.5 million acres of land, and will remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. That’s like taking two million cars off the road. Only 7 percent of the Atlantic Forest’s original area — which was the size of the U.S. eastern seaboard from Maine to South Carolina – survives. The Atlantic Forest helps regulate the atmosphere and stabilize global climate, including the communities Columbia Gas of Ohio serves.
“We applaud Columbia Gas and its customers for this win-win for Ohio and global conservation,” said Josh Knights, executive director of The Nature Conservancy in Ohio. “Going paperless takes some of the pressure off of our forests and the company’s donation will reforest an area that has suffered from indiscriminate logging.”
“Our company is pleased to offer customers an easier and more convenient way to pay their gas bill, while at the same time promoting a cleaner environment,” said Columbia Gas of Ohio President Jack Partridge. “This is another example of how Columbia Gas of Ohio is doing more for our customers and our communities.”
For more information about Columbia Gas of Ohio’s Direct e-Bill paperless billing service and other online self-service options, visit ColumbiaGasOhio.com, or call 1-800-344-4077. Go to www.nature.org or www.plantabillion.org to learn more about The Nature Conservancy’s campaign to Plant a Billion Trees.
