As more consumers look at whether their lifestyle is sustainable, different areas of their lives come under scrutiny. This can include how their money is managed, which is where green banking can come in. Green banking is a very general term which can cover a multitude of areas from a bank being environmentally friendly to how their money is invested.
If you are interested in green banking, here is a little more information to get you started. In terms of the bank or building society itself being environmentally friendly, you could ask your bank if they have an environmental policy. Do they employ energy saving measures? Do they use recycled paper and recycle waste? The Norwich & Peterborough Building Society was the first building society to achieve the carbon neutral quality mark and HSBC (including their internet bank www.firstdirect.com) were the first carbon neutral bank.
But what about green banking with regards to your investments? There are some banks which very specifically use their money to fund environmental or ethical projects including Ecology Building Society, Triodos Bank, and the Co-operative Bank (including their online bank Smile). The A Lot of Organics website lists some other ethical finance companies to take a look at. Some of the major high street banks and building societies also offer accounts and investments specifically funding ethical organisations so it is also worth asking your bank what they offer.
Overall it is worth taking the different factors into consideration when deciding which route to go down. Of course you also want your money to do well, but many of the banks mentioned as well as the applicable accounts with other high street banks do have reasonable rates of interest so shop around and decide which deal suits you best in a financial and ethical sense.
