Ethical Banks

gsmh

RG2015 said:

The OP specifically asked about green credentials and fossil fuels. Describing support for oil giants as nefarious is a bit strong.

Deaths from the use fossil fuels easily exceeds deaths from Covid19 and you surely wouldn't want to be associated with a company actively supporting the spread of the virus. Deaths resulting from the use of fossil fuels are thought to be around 10,000 per day. The article below says, ".. the loss of life expectancy globally from air pollution surpasses that of HIV/AIDS, parasitic, vector-borne, and other infectious diseases by a large margin. It exceeds the [loss of life expectancy] due to all forms of violence by an order of magnitude and that of smoking by a third.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerpielke/2020/03/10/every-day-10000-people-die-due-to-air-pollution-from-fossil-fuels/#3f85dc9e2b6a

RG2015

@gsmh,

Many thanks for your response. Once we enter the global air pollution debate it is whole new ball game.

Ethical banking is just a subset of ethical business but clearly is within the bounds of this board. However, I am not sure that banking is a bigger contributor to the problem than other business. Nevertheless, this does not justify disparaging those attempting to bank more ethically. 

For what it's worth, my current policy is to deprive the banks of as much of their money as I legally can and divert it to good causes. 

gsmh

RG2015 said:

Ethical banking is just a subset of ethical business but clearly is within the bounds of this board. However, I am not sure that banking is a bigger contributor to the problem than other business.

Absolutely, that's why it's important to examine what one does and who one supports in all areas of business, not just banking. I try to do my best across the board. I'm only discussing banking here because of the nature of the forum. Magazines and websites such as Ethical Consumer help greatly in this respect - but I do not agree with them on everything.