To celebrate Good Money Week – which helps you find sustainable and ethical options for banking, pensions, savings and investments – we’re showcasing our ‘Good Egg’ companies. These are financial providers that can PROVE they make a positive difference the planet and society, as well as their customers. Here we look at Triodos Bank.
Founded in 1980, Triodos Bank represents the ‘gold standard’ in sustainable banking. It was the first (and is still the only) bank to be awarded a Good With Money ‘Good Egg’ mark.
Its ethos is that banking can be a powerful force for good, serving individuals and communities while building a healthier, more sustainable society. With a presence in the Netherlands, the UK, Belgium, Spain and Germany, Triodos will only finance organisations that are making a positive impact on the planet and people.
The bank, a certified B-Corp, is committed to a 100 per cent sustainable business model and total transparency. Besides looking after peoples’ cash, it has the following missions to:
- help create a society that protects and promotes the quality of life of all its members
- enable individuals, organisations and businesses to use money in ways that benefit people and the environment, and promote sustainable development
- provide customers with innovative financial products and high quality service
We love Triodos because it is the most established ethical finance option for UK savers and investors and continues to stand the test of time. In the UK, Triodos has more than 80,000 customers, having risen 2o per cent in 2020 and a further 10 per cent in the first half of this year.
What you need to know about: Triodos Bank
What can you get from Triodos Bank?
Triodos offers a full suite of everyday ethical banking services for individuals, businesses and charities. These include a current account, individual savings accounts (ISAs) and a business account.
Triodos also makes it easy to invest your money in a positive future. It lays out its range of investment opportunities – such as the Triodos Pioneer Impact Fund and Triodos Global Equities Impact Fund – clearly and is fully transparent about what your money will be used for. It also delves deeper into some of the projects it supports through video interviews and a blog.
In 2018, Triodos launched its own crowdfunding platform to make it easier for its community of sustainably-minded investors to find social investment opportunities. In September 2021, it raised £2 million in record time to help fund a Trees for Life rewilding project in the Scottish Highlands. To date, Triodos has raised more than £133 million in social investments for 30 individual organisations.
What’s new with Triodos Bank?
This year Triodos was recognised as the ‘best sustainable bank’ in the UK at the Responsible Banking Awards, run by CFI.co. It was also voted as the most sustainable savings provider by consumer site Which?, achieving top scores for its carbon reporting and management as well as ethical lending policies.
In August 2021, Triodos topped a Which? chart for the most sustainable savings account providers.
In September 2021, Triodos partnered with the app untied to help its customers simplify their tax returns. untied automatically sorts your bank transactions, and tracks income and mileage to help you claim expenses and file your tax return.
