Banco Santander Uruguay invites its customers to offset their carbon footprint together through a groundbreaking proposal.

23 July 2021
Inspired by a desire to protect the environment and continue innovating to offer value-added products to its customers, Banco Santander has launched the Carbon Neutral Car Loan, an unprecedented initiative in Uruguay which benefits both the community and planet.  

Each time that Santander finances a 0 km car, it will award VCUs (Verified Carbon Units), also known as Carbon Offsets, in the name of the customer. This is a way of offsetting the amount of greenhouse gas produced by the car and eliminated from the atmosphere over the period of the loan.

A VCU is an offset which certifies that a tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) has been removed from the atmosphere. Through this initiative and with the support of the Uruguayan specialist climate change consultancy Carbosur, Santander will take part in the Ceibo Project, providing resources and human effort to transform more than 22,000 hectares of degraded land in the north-east of the country into forest plantations that will enable this land to be restored.

Carbosur is involved in a wide range of activities related to the identification, design and implementation of greenhouse gas reduction projects within the agriculture-livestock-forestry and energy sector, as well as with the implementation Low Carbon Development strategies for companies and countries.

"We are proud of this project which we have managed to make a reality, a product which is aligned with our commitment to sustainability, protecting the environment and having a positive impact in the communities where we operate", said Juan Manuel Gasparri, head of Personal Banking at Santander.

This initiative will entail no additional costs for the bank's customers and is an investment that Santander will make to support the environment.

For more information, please visit www.creditocochesantander.com.uy