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In a new initiative to tackle the environmental impacts of our operations, John Dunne, Head of Electronic Channels Development, and his team are encouraging our internet banking customers to stop receiving paper statements and help us help the environment.

When we launched our Great Paper Challenge in January 2004, we were aiming to reduce the amount of paper we use in and around the office, and increase the amount of paper we recycle.

In 2005, we began looking at how we could extend our Great Paper Challenge into the wider community. In particular, we looked at what we could do to reduce the number of paper statements we send to customers. The 'e-statements' initiative, a vision of John Dunne and his Electronic Channels Development team, targets the 1.9 million customers who use our internet banking services.

Launched in June 2005, 'e-statements' provides our internet banking customers with the option of receiving banking statements electronically, rather than in the mail. At Westpac Online, customers can also view their statements for the previous 18 months. Not only is this initiative good for the environment but it has also been welcomed by our customers with open arms.

By September 2005, 104,000 customers had opted for electronic statements, including 5,400 of our own employees. This has cut our paper consumption by over 5 tonnes, and eliminated 14 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

The potential bottom-line benefi ts are also enormous. We estimate that over the next four years the e-statements initiative will save $4 million in statement printing and postage costs.

To kick-off the e-statements initiative and further encourage customers to opt out of paper statements, Westpac donated $50,000 to Landcare Australia to support tree planting and revegetation projects at a property near Yass in Southern NSW.