Barclaycard Business today announced the launch of a Carbon Offset corporate charge card designed and brought to market to address the needs of business advisory firm Deloitte.  The card is the first of its type to offset some of the environmental impact of the goods and services purchased by the organisation using the card. The card will be manufactured to be carbon neutral and is made of recyclable plastic.   

Deloitte worked with Barclaycard Business to create the card and will be the first organisation to make a Carbon Offset corporate card available to its 11,000 UK staff.

Bob Warburton, Managing Partner, Finance and Legal at Deloitte comments :  “We are delighted that Barclaycard Business has been able to respond to our requirement for a product that moved away from the traditional model of cardholder rewards, to one that helps to offset the environmental impact of the goods and services our people purchase in the course of doing business. We are striving to reduce our carbon footprint and are pleased with the results we have achieved, for example, by switching to 100% renewable energy at all our managed locations. However, we also recognise that some level of emissions is inevitable and we wanted to find an answer for what remains.”

The corporate card will be used to fund a recognised carbon offsetting programme.  The carbon offset element will be provided by new processes created between Barclaycard Business and Barclays Capital, where Deloitte purchases Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) through Barclaycard Business with the assistance of  Barclays Capital’s leading Emissions Trading Desk.   Barclays Capital will also arrange for the CERs to be cancelled, effectively ensuring that the certificates are untradable in the future.

Bill Thomson, Director, Barclaycard Business said: 
‘Barclaycard Business has a great track-record of delivering innovation that helps our customers. Environmental issues are at the top of the business agenda for many organisations and we are proud to work with a company of Deloitte’s size and heritage to produce a corporate card that meets their business needs and environmental responsibilities.’

Offering innovative products and services that help customers reduce their impact on climate change is one part of Barclays Climate Action Programme. Other initiatives include:

• Reducing carbon dioxide emissions by improving energy efficiency.
• Buying renewable energy.
• Making Barclays UK operations carbon neutral by offsetting remaining carbon dioxide emissions.

Last month Barclaycard announced plans to launch the first UK card that will provide consumers with a greener credit card option. Barclaycard Breathe will donate 50 per cent of its profits to environmental projects dedicated to reducing carbon emissions around the world and offer cardholders discounts and lower rate borrowing on green products and services.

Ends

Notes to editors

About Barclaycard Business
Barclaycard Business (part of Barclays Group plc) is Europe’s Number 1 issuer of Visa Commercial Cards with over 152,000 corporate customers. It services businesses of all sizes from multi-national companies and Government departments to small and medium enterprises. Barclaycard Business cards are welcome at more than 24 million places worldwide.

Barclaycard Business is also one of Europe’s largest acquirers and processors of plastic card transactions, with over 93,000 retailer and business relationships. In addition to traditional terminals, Barclaycard Business has other options available for processing card payments: the portable terminal is ideal for restaurants and bars; the mobile option allows payments on the move for taxi drivers and other mobile professions; and Barclaycard Business offers a secure online/telephone payment solution. In 2005, more than 1.8 billion purchases were made with credit and debit cards through 192,000 Barclaycard Business’ customer outlets in the UK.
For further information visit our website at www.barclaycardbusiness.co.uk

Barclays has the EU’s largest emissions trading desk and pioneered the creation of a secondary market in CERs.

About Deloitte
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP which is among the country’s leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services. Deloitte & Touche LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (‘DTT’), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are separate and independent legal entities.  Neither DTT nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other’s omissions.  Services are provided by member firms or their subsidiaries and not by DTT.  Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.  The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press. 

For further information please contact:

Four Communications, 0870 420 3245
barclaycardbusiness@fourcommunications.com