What green banking options are there available?
Green banking has taken off over the past few years, with many challenger banks promoting environmentally friendly practices. Here we discuss some sustainable banking options, so you can decide if you want to bank greener.
Which Green Banks exist?
Bunq bank is one bank disrupting the industry by offering a new kind of ‘cashback service’ each time you spend a certain amount of money. In the case of this bank, the company will plant a tree for every €100 that you spend with their ‘Green Card.’ The company is officially partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects and is working with them to finance reforestation around the globe.
Doconomy, is also aiming to make banking more eco-friendly by making consumers more aware of the environmental consequences of their spending and lifestyle. The company has created a mobile banking service that allows users to track their C02 emissions and compensate for their impact with a series of carbon offset projects certified by the UN.
It is worth noting which traditional banks are the most sustainable. For instance, Dutch bank ING is often been listed as one of the most sustainable in the world, having been involved with almost half of all the roughly 32 loans arranged globally since 2017 that have been pegged to demonstrable or quantifiable improvements along various sustainable metrics. The bank is viewed as sustainable due to the fact it is the European bank with the biggest number of green bond transactions and is also carbon neutral.
In another example, The Co-operative Bank in the UK has had an ‘ethical policy’ since 1992. As part of this it does not lend to, or invest in, companies which do not fit with its values.
And lastly, HSBC is known for being the first carbon neutral high street bank.
Eco-friendly Bank cards
One other easy way to go green is to replace your plastic credit card with a more sustainable option.
Leading card issuers have recently developed ‘green’ cards made of recycled ocean plastic for example, and other banks, such as Triodos, are creating bio-sourced bank cards that are made from polylactic acid (PLA), a plastic substitute, which reduces traditional PVC use by more than 80%
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