Join Green Rewards today and earn great discounts, vouchers and prizes at local businesses and projects in your community for playing your part to combat climate change and achieve net zero! That’s the message from all nine local Councils in Nottinghamshire who have joined forces with local universities and creator Jump for a trailblazing partnership!
It provides a new Green Rewards app and web platform which means Notts residents can accumulate points and earn the prizes for many activities they do every day at home or out and about that help lower their carbon footprint.
It is part of the Universities for Nottingham civic collaboration which aims to improve the way the universities work with each other and their local partners to help change the lives of local people for the better. Sign up for free now or download the Green Rewards app on iOS and Android. Search for ‘Notts; Green Rewards’ in your device’s app store.
In similar fashion to rewards points at retailers, all residents need to do is log their day to day activities that highlight how they are decreasing the amount of carbon they create, such as:
• Walking to work or school instead of taking the car
• Cycling or using public transport
• Putting your recycling bin out with all the correct recyclables
• Switching off a light or switch at home
• Taking a shower of four minutes or less and many, many more!
There’s a full list of how you can redeem points or it’s available on the app and when you accumulate sufficient points you can then earn the discounts, vouchers and prizes and in Rushcliffe 10 per cent discounts or other offers at these participating outlets.
There’s also £20 worth of vouchers for the top two residents in each council area who earn the most points each month, to claim at local businesses, donate to worthwhile causes or projects and in some districts and Boroughs there’s prizes too for the top points earning wards.
All the Councils across Notts including Ashfield District Council, Bassetlaw District Council, Broxtowe Borough Council, Gedling Borough Council, Mansfield District Council, Newark and Sherwood District Council, Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council have come together to drive forward and fund the platform and app to residents. They have followed the lead of Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham who use the app to encourage their staff and students to log their every-day activities.
Through the Universities for Nottingham initiative partners have pledged to tackle sustainable travel and transport and develop joint programmes to change behaviour, ensuring the lessons learnt are passed on to all in the region.
The first collaborative sustainability engagement programme of its kind in the UK, it features the simple carbon-reduction activities that residents can complete.
It means Nottinghamshire is the first County in the country to see all its major local authority and education partners collaborate on a climate change reduction project in this way ahead of next month’s COP 26, providing an easy to use platform and incentives for all. Speaking on behalf of the council partners, Rushcliffe Borough Council’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Communities and Climate Change Cllr Abby Brennan said: “We are excited to launch Green Rewards to our residents and provide them with the tools and motivation to join the fight against climate change. Register or download the app today!
“Small actions really can make a difference, and we’re confident of this scheme’s ability to show how much of an impact our residents can have. “This scheme has already been a huge hit with University students and staff so we’re delighted many residents can now join them to be rewarded for everything they do to help lower carbon levels.
“Every time you go for a walk, cycle or use green public transport instead of using a car, recycle responsibly or just turn a light switch or plug off at home, you can earn points and enjoy the rewards.
“The environment and climate change are at the forefront of all of our priorities as partners and this project is a unique opportunity for Councils across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to work together and achieve something extraordinary.” Nottingham Trent University’s Head of Sustainability Charmaine Morrell said: “We launched Green Rewards at Nottingham Trent University in February 2019, so I’m delighted that the app is being rolled out across the whole of Nottinghamshire. “This is a huge achievement given that all the local authorities within Nottinghamshire have come together, united in their desire to get everyone involved to combat climate change. At NTU alone 360,000 kilograms of carbon has already been saved, the same weight as 90 elephants.”
Andy Nolan, Director of Sustainability at the University of Nottingham said: “We’ve been delighted with the way our staff and students have used the Green Rewards App to log the positive actions they are taking to help achieve our sustainability goals and it’s great to see how commitments made through the Universities for Nottingham initiative are expanding across the county. “We’ve already seen 23,000 positive actions, saving over 25,000kg of CO2.”
The partnership will support each council’s target of reaching net zero carbon emissions before 2040, with some committing to an earlier date of 2030. Each councils’ residents will see different activities and content when they access the Green Rewards platform, ensuring it is tailored to their council’s goals.
Graham Simmonds, Chief Executive, Jump, says: “We are delighted to be celebrating the launch of Notts Councils’ ground-breaking Green Rewards programme. “This is a significant step in the race to reach net zero and it’s very exciting to see the eight District and Borough Councils plus the County Council and two universities coming together and collaborating so effectively. “I’m excited by the range of carbon busting activities for residents to get involved in, and with lots of people taking lots of individual actions this will collectively add up to a big difference.”