What a timely prompt as I have been upping my participation in Korea’s ‘Carbon Neutral Points’ system this week. The initiative encourages sustainable habits in daily life by rewarding participants with cash back from partnering companies.
For example, I am writing this post in a cafe now, with my tall decaf americano in a reusable tumbler I brought with me. Since I have a ‘Carbon Neutral Points account, I will get 300 won cash back for bringing my own cup, and 100 won for receiving a mobile receipt instead of paper. Add the 300 won discount from the cafe itself at the register for using my own cup, and that’s 800 won off my 4800 won coffee.
There are a variety of participating companies, but the options I get the most use out of are mobile receipts at convenience stores and cafes, and using my own tumbler. At the end of each month, your cash back is deposited in your bank account. It’s not much, a dollar or two at most, but the financial incentive does bolster the moral imperative to live more sustainably. And it is nice to see ‘Carbon Neutrality’ on the deposits side of the bank statement.
I also get a few thousand won cash back every time I use the refill station at the zero waste store. I’m actually running low on laundry detergent now, so am looking forward to filling up my (former) orange juice jug with detergent and collecting more cash back!
A Wonderful Sheep 
I didn’t even know that there’s such a system. Good for you! (And me!)
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