Recyclebank Mobilizes Mass Green Action with New Network

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) New York, NY - October 18, 2011 - Recyclebank®, the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from local and national businesses, today announced the launch of the Recyclebank Ecosystem, a first-of-its-kind network of companies working together to motivate and reward people to take online and offline green actions. As part of this effort, Recyclebank is partnering with like-minded brands and organizations to empower individuals through its rewards platform to live more sustainable lives, with the ultimate goal of making a substantial collective impact on the environment. Inaugural network partners include Barnes & Noble, Preserve®, MillionTreesNYC, thredUP, Earth911, Rent the Runway and UncommonGoods. 

“Recyclebank realizes that to make a measurable environmental impact, we need to motivate millions to act in ways that creates a more sustainable future. We cannot do this alone, however, so the launch of the Recyclebank Ecosystem dramatically scales our reach by connecting Recyclebank with communities of other like-minded, eco-conscious brands,” said Ali C. Mirian, Recyclebank Ecosystem general manager. “Our goal is to create a network of relationships with consumers and brands that collectively generate greater impact than any individual or single organization could make on their own.”   Recyclebank is inviting mainstream and emerging brands, as well as green and sustainability-focused organizations, to join its coalition and offer opportunities for people to get rewarded for all facets of green living. To reach this broad audience of mainstream consumers, Recyclebank will work with publishers, e-tailers, retailers, utilities and environmental and governmental organizations as well as technology companies. With its inaugural partners and Recyclebank’s established member base, the network is already reaching more than 3.6 million consumers each month, according to comScore. The goal is to make a measurable environmental impact by significantly expanding this reach. By joining the Recyclebank Ecosystem, partners can further engage their customers in a meaningful way that supports their sustainability goals, while also attracting new members from Recyclebank’s own community.   Partners joining the coalition collaborate with Recyclebank to develop rewards for actions their customers and audiences can take that have a positive environmental impact. While Recyclebank aims to offer consumers rewards via partnerships that touch each point of their daily lives, potential “green actions” include engaging with sustainability-related educational content, making more eco-friendly purchasing decisions, taking eco-conscious transportation and signing up for paperless billing. After completing one of these or other green actions through a partner, people earn points that can be redeemed for discounts and deals from local and national grocery stores, restaurants and retailers.   A number of inaugural network partners have already extended Recyclebank rewards to their users. Partners, and the actions their users can take to be rewarded, include:

• Barnes & Noble, the world’s largest bookseller, rewards people for purchasing eco-conscious NOOK™ eReaders

• MillionTreesNYC, a citywide, public-private program, now rewards people for adopting trees in New York City

• Earth911, host of the nation’s largest recycling directory, which rewards consumers for signing up for its Instant Expert newsletter

• thredUP, a site where moms trade kids’ clothing and toys, which rewards people for joining their community  

• UncommonGoods, an e-tailer of sustainable gifts, now rewards people for buying eco-friendly products

  Other partners deploying their membership to the network later this fall include green-conscious brands and organizations Macy’s, Rent the Runway, Kids Konserve and ChooseUp, which will reward their users for selecting paperless bill pay, renting previously worn clothing, packing waste-free lunches in eco-friendly bags and curbing energy use with energy-saving products, respectively.   COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPATING PARTNERS “Preserve is about sustainable consumer products working in broader systems—such as our Gimme 5 recycling program which collects #5 plastics at Whole Foods Markets and co-ops across the country. By joining the Recyclebank Ecosystem, we have found the missing link that allows us to close the loop and truly maximize our ability to reduce the impacts consumers have on the planet,” said Eric Hudson, founder and CEO at Preserve. “By rewarding our customers for purchasing and recycling our products, we’re confident we can motivate and inspire more people to live more sustainable lives.”   “We launched thredUP to eliminate friction around recycling children’s goods, so incentivizing environmental responsibility is at the very core of what we’ve set out to do,” said James Reinhart, CEO of thredUP. “Becoming part of the Recyclebank Ecosystem is a natural way for us to reward moms for joining our community and swapping kids’ clothes, toys and books with families across the country. We are thrilled to be part of such a unique opportunity and hope our partnership encourages families to continue to make green choices.”   HOW TO JOIN THE NETWORK Recyclebank is currently accepting additional partners into the network. If your organization is interested in becoming a partner, visit www.recyclebank.com/ecosystem or contact ecosystem@recyclebank.com.   ABOUT RECYCLEBANK Recyclebank helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 3,000 local and national businesses. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank is empowering individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling, reducing household energy usage and taking other environmentally-preferred actions. Recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme and for Outstanding Excellence in Public/Private Partnerships from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com.  
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