Arvest saves trees in honor of Earth Day

May 04, 2009 03:58 pm

— ADA – Arvest Bank celebrated Earth Day 2009 by saving 1,173 trees. The bank reached its goal of converting 100,000 account holders from paper statements to electronic statements by Earth Day, April 22, 2009. The effort will save 4.5 million pieces of paper waste and 1.5 million envelopes each year, or the equivalent of 1,173 trees.
Approximately 20 percent of accounts at Arvest Bank are currently signed up to receive electronic statements (e.Statements) reducing more than 34 tons of paper waste. In the past 12 months, Arvest has tripled the number of accounts receiving e.Statements by touting its benefits, both environmental and convenience.
Bank officials say electronic statements allow customers to have faster access to their monthly statements and check images by giving them the ability to view, print or store them online as soon as they are available, instead of waiting for their paper statements to arrive.

Wendi Phillips, spokesperson for Arvest said, “The amount of paper we’re saving each year, if stacked one on top of the other, is 1,500 feet height. That’s about 250 feet taller than the Empire State Building! We’re thrilled that so many of our customers have helped us make this goal a reality and we will continue to encourage customers to switch to e.Statements as part of an overall dedication to help the environment.”

Arvest Bank has set a new goal of reaching 30 percent of their eligible accounts receiving e.Statements by January 2010. In addition, Arvest Bank also offers mobile banking and online BillPay. Last month, customers paid 276,000 bills online which could potentially save approximately three million envelopes, checks or receipts annually by not being mailed to customers.