Triodos Bank UK, a frontrunner in sustainable banking, has today announced it has funded £2.5 billion of impact-led projects in the UK since its foundation, as it celebrates three decades of financing positive social and environmental change.
Since opening its UK business in 1995, Triodos has been at the forefront of sustainable banking, enabling individuals and organisations to use their money in ways that benefit people and the planet. As it marks its 30th anniversary this year, Triodos has now delivered a total of £2.5 billion in lending to projects generating transformative social and environmental impact across the UK.
The bank has pioneered the use of finance to drive forward environmental change over the last 30 years, from financing Ecotricity to build its first wind turbine in 1996, to delivering a landmark £20.55m loan – the UK’s largest conservation-focused commercial debt package to date – to Oxygen Conservation in 2023.
As well as environmental change, Triodos’s lending has supported social impact and championed inclusion and equality in communities across the UK. This has ranged from social housing, charities and healthcare providers and brands such as Riverford, Neal’s Yard and Cafédirect, to backing community projects such as Gympanzees – the UK’s first accessible play centre for children with disabilities – and Sea Lanes Brighton, the UK’s first open water swimming training centre.
Triodos Bank has a vision for a prosperous life for people on a thriving planet. It has captured some of the stories behind its loans in a new publication: Stories of Transformative Impact. Triodos has identified five interlinked transition themes: food, resource, energy, society and wellbeing. The mission of the bank is to enable and accelerate these vital transitions and it is focused on specialist financing in sectors such as nature-based solutions, education, healthcare and housing to help achieve this.
Last year alone, Triodos Bank UK’s gross new lending was over £160 million. As of the end of 2024, Triodos Bank’s lending portfolio backed:
- almost 100 clean energy projects, avoiding over 81 ktonnes of CO2 emissions and generating 35 MW – equivalent of annual electricity needs of 164,000 households
- 82 organic farms that together manage more than 28,000 acres of organic farmland, providing approximately 13 million organic meals
- 11 nature-based projects, sequestering approximately 12 ktonnes CO2
- 127 social housing projects, providing accommodation for approximately 15,500 people
- 65 care homes providing for over 2,600 individuals
- 49 projects in the cultural sector, from individual artists to large cultural institutions
Mark Clayton, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, said:“Over the past 30 years, Triodos has shown time and time again that where you bank matters. As too many banks scale back on sustainability commitments, at Triodos we remain committed to using the power of finance for good. Now more than ever, we urgently need finance to flow towards supporting resilient, healthy communities, and enabling our planet to thrive.
“We’re incredibly proud to reflect on what Triodos Bank customers have achieved over the last 30 years in the UK, with so many trailblazing businesses and organisations delivering impact where it is needed most. We look forward to growing this impact even further, alongside our community, in the years to come.”
The Triodos Foundation is also 30 years old this year. The registered UK charity has donated over £850k of grants to projects and charities based in Bristol and the surrounding area over this time. The Foundation obtains its resources directly from its own activities and services, as well as donations from Triodos Bank customers.
Triodos Bank’s history in the UK
In 1995, Triodos Bank, with its roots in the Netherlands, acquired the Sussex-based ethical bank Mercury Provident and relocated to offices in Bristol. This was the creation of Triodos Bank in the UK.
From a small team of just seven people, it has grown to be a significant retail bank – offering a highly-rated personal current account and mobile banking, impact investments, corporate finance advisory and specialist, relationship-based business banking services – and employing over 300 co-workers in Bristol, London and Scotland.
Triodos Bank’s first business banking customer in the UK back in 1995 was Jane Stephenson. She is founding CEO and Director of the environmental consultancy Resource Futures, that formed out of three Bristol and Leeds based recycling and reuse organisations. Jane says:“We are faced with unprecedented environmental and social challenges. Addressing these challenges requires consideration of wider social and economic forces, and we must acknowledge the role of the banking sector, including the need for businesses and individuals to invest their money in organisations that act responsibly. That’s why I have always been proud to bank with Triodos as a business and personal customer.”
This year, Triodos Bank UK has been recognised with a King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, as well as being named Best Ethical Financial Provider at the British Bank Awards for the fourth consecutive year.