In previous months, we’ve highlighted lots of suggestions about how to reduce your energy consumption and waste, and generally live a greener lifestyle. You’ll find lots of these ideas on the Emmanuel Church website on the EcoChurch page emmanueleastbourne.org.uk/eco-church/
Amongst those ideas of turning off lights and walking to church, we might not naturally think about who we bank with playing a part in how environmentally friendly our
lifestyle is. But how much do we know about our banks? What do we know about their impact on God’s creation? How do our faith and finances connect? How important are ethical considerations in our financial decisions?
When we leave money in the bank, it doesn’t sit idly; it goes on to have an impact, both positive and negative, across the world. Banks put our money to work by lending to individuals, companies, and projects. Big banks will also hold significant investments. Being wise stewards of our money means that we should ensure it’s used for good and not for harm. One of my favourite verses, Micah 6:8, calls us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. I believe that as Christians, we should seek to apply these principles throughout our lives, and this includes our approach to money and who we bank with. So, I’d suggest that if our bank is financing fossil fuel production or exploration, or invests in arms companies, or doesn’t pay its fair share of tax, then we should be thinking about changing bank.
Part of our aspiration to reach the EcoChurch Silver Award status depends on each of us at Emmanuel making choices in our own lives to take effective climate action that protects our planet. One of those choices is about who we bank with. If you are not sure how good your current bank is, you can find out with this website: bank.green The ‘big five’ High Street banks (Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Lloyds and NatWest) offer convenience and a range of services, but they also provide finance to companies that are causing harm to people and the planet. Collectively, they have invested hundreds of billions of pounds in fossil fuels, financing the climate crisis. Banks are driving deforestation too, threatening biodiversity and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. They have provided finance to agricultural companies described as having ‘an extensive legacy of human rights abuses and environmental degradation’, including deforestation. There are links to some reports at the end of this article if you want to find out more.
Which? (UK’s consumer champion) identifies three banks as the greenest banks after examining the environmental policies of 13 of the UK’s leading current account providers. These are Nationwide, Triodos and the Co-operative Bank. All of these are covered by the current account switch service guarantee currentaccountswitch.co.uk.
If you’d like to do more reading around this subject, I’d really recommend the justmoney.org.uk website. This frequently asked questions document contains helpful information about switching banks: justmoney.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2025/02/The-Big-Bank-Switch-FAQs-February-2025.pdf Of course many of us don’t just have money in a bank. Significant investments are made by our pension providers. According to makemymoneymatter.co.uk £2 of every £10 in a typical pension fund is linked to deforestation. Our pensions maybe unknowingly supporting industries that exploit workers, harm communities, and damage the environment – from mining and fossil fuels to tobacco and arms. But there is potential for pensions to be good news to our neighbours and to nature. UK pensions, for example, could invest £1 trillion in climate solutions by 2035 – half of what’s needed to reach our national net zero target by 2050. That’s money that could help build a safer world for future generations. Please look at justmoney.org.uk/money-makes-change-hub/pensions for more information.
So, here’s a challenge:
- Could you find out how ethical your current bank is, and if necessary, switch to a more ethical bank? A new bank for the new year, maybe?
- If you’re paying into a pension scheme could you switch to an ethical pension provider / scheme, if that’s possible for you?
- If you decide to switch either of these, could you let the EcoChurch team know? The best way to do this is to email ecochurch@emmanueleastbourne.org.uk.
This will really help in our progress towards the Silver EcoChurch Award. Thank you!
Stephen, for the EcoChurch group.
For further reading:
Fossil Fuel Finance Report 2024. bankingonclimatechaos.org
Banking on biodiversity collapse (p40-42) forestsandfinance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/BOBC_2023_vF.pdf
See also ethicalconsumer.org/company-profile/hsbc