Looking for advice on green/ethical banking

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AmerzD
AmerzD Posts: 4 Newbie
in Green & ethical MoneySaving
I am interested in moving my money to a green or ethical bank and would like to hear any recommendations or suggestions as I can't find much on the main website. My primary motive is to use a bank/or an account which won't be using my money to invest in oil or gas although I do have other ethical considerations too.

Are there many options out there? Are they worth switching to? Is the variety of options larger in other countries?

Thank you

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  • gefnew
    gefnew Posts: 880 Forumite
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    look at the co-op
  • robin58
    robin58 Posts: 2,802 Forumite
    edited 5 January 2018 at 2:27AM
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    You did not look hard enough.

    In the bank accounts section from the main website was a link which will give most of the information you want.

    http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/buyersguides/money/bankingcurrentaccounts.aspx

    but as said in the message above this one, Coop is the most main stream bank to give you what you want.
    The more I live, the more I learn.
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    How little I know.!! ;)
  • NigeWick
    NigeWick Posts: 2,716 Forumite
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    AmerzD wrote: »
    I am interested in moving my money to a green or ethical bank
    Triodos is one option but I don't know anything about them.
    The mind of the bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.
    Oliver Wendell Holmes
  • Ben84
    Ben84 Posts: 3,069 Forumite
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    edited 6 January 2018 at 8:52PM
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    This is an interesting one. I did consider swapping banks a while back for similar reasons. Not having my money invested in polluting industries sounds immediately appealing, but then I thought about it more and realised, I use oil, gas, coal, and minerals from the earth every day. Despite their environmental problems, we all use them every day and our personal well-being and that of our society depends on them. Should I be trying to avoid their funding when I'm buying, using and benefiting from them? Seemed contradictory, and a lot more complex than it initially seemed when I thought about it that way. If I choose to use these things then I have to accept I want them, despite their downsides. The consumer goods we want lead back to fossil fuels and mining, we can't make the raw material supply vanish and still have the goods. So what is the point trying to reduce the production of things you want?

    So I'm not actually against my bank investing in these industries. I mean, at least for now, we need them! The reactionary approach some banks presented of complete abstinence doesn't solve the issue - we need alternatives. Unless green banks are investing in things like solar panel manufacturing, or insulation companies, etc. they're not offering an alternative so much as an ideal. I would be more convinced by a policy of investing in industries that offer alternatives than the just not taking part in major industries approach. I also am not completely against them investing in making the materials and energy I use. So, next time I'm considering changing bank, I'll be looking at their investment policy, but I won't take it as simply as all fossil fuels are wrong. I will be looking for their interest in alternatives however.
  • AmerzD
    AmerzD Posts: 4 Newbie
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    Ben84 wrote: »
    This is an interesting one. I did consider swapping banks a while back for similar reasons. Not having my money invested in polluting industries sounds immediately appealing, but then I thought about it more and realised, I use oil, gas, coal, and minerals from the earth every day. Despite their environmental problems, we all use them every day and our personal well-being and that of our society depends on them. Should I be trying to avoid their funding when I'm buying, using and benefiting from them? Seemed contradictory, and a lot more complex than it initially seemed when I thought about it that way. If I choose to use these things then I have to accept I want them, despite their downsides. The consumer goods we want lead back to fossil fuels and mining, we can't make the raw material supply vanish and still have the goods. So what is the point trying to reduce the production of things you want?

    So I'm not actually against my bank investing in these industries. I mean, at least for now, we need them! The reactionary approach some banks presented of complete abstinence doesn't solve the issue - we need alternatives. Unless green banks are investing in things like solar panel manufacturing, or insulation companies, etc. they're not offering an alternative so much as an ideal. I would be more convinced by a policy of investing in industries that offer alternatives than the just not taking part in major industries approach. I also am not completely against them investing in making the materials and energy I use. So, next time I'm considering changing bank, I'll be looking at their investment policy, but I won't take it as simply as all fossil fuels are wrong. I will be looking for their interest in alternatives however.

    Thank you Ben, I understand your point that we are all using oil, gas etc however I would much rather my money is invested in companies searching for serious alternatives rather then funding further gas and oil exploration. I'll keep searching for the right fit.
  • Ben84
    Ben84 Posts: 3,069 Forumite
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    AmerzD wrote: »
    Thank you Ben, I understand your point that we are all using oil, gas etc however I would much rather my money is invested in companies searching for serious alternatives rather then funding further gas and oil exploration. I'll keep searching for the right fit.

    Hi AmerzD, I think that's very similar how I'm thinking about it actually - about how we need to fund alternatives. People (me included) aren't going to give up fossil fuels without the options to use less and/or make cleaner energy. A lot has happened in this area, but until it's more developed, we don't have a great deal of options. I'd like my money to be invested more in growing the options, not just avoiding the necessary but bad fossil fuels. There's no choice without options, that's why I see banks just offering avoidance of the issue without funding alternatives as limited in benefit.
  • Campbell_M_H_C
    Campbell_M_H_C Posts: 1 Newbie
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    I was wondering why banks like TRIODOS are not on the MSW list
  • jimjames
    jimjames Posts: 17,649 Forumite
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    Campbell_M_H_C wrote: »
    I was wondering why banks like TRIODOS are not on the MSW list

    Not Uk and not FSCS protected I'd guess so you'd need to claim via Dutch regulator if there was a problem.
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
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