Following rigorous and comprehensive research and analysis of Triodos Bank UK’s activities and practices, The Good Shopping Guide is pleased to announce that Triodos has qualified for an Ethical Company Award. This award recognises the achievements that Triodos has made across several ethical criteria covering environment, animals, people and other ethical and sustainable criteria.
The top rating awarded to Triodos Bank UK, which appears on The Good Shopping Guide, reflects primary research that was undertaken by our researchers in August 2021 into the company’s positive practices and ethical policy commitments, along with a full screening of comments from multiple expert third parties and campaigning groups across the world.
The researchers highlighted that Triodos discloses its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in its 2020 Integrated Annual Report and has pledged to reduce carbon emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. The bank is a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Banking and the Principles for Responsible Investment, which supports the integration of social and environmental issues within investments, ultimately encouraging investors to engage in activities that make a positive impact on the world. Moreover, Triodos was a co-founder of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) in 2009, a network of banks wanting to grow sustainable banking and its impact on the economy.
These factors, as well as the in-depth research by The Good Shopping Guide across several categories covering environment, animals and people, determined that Triodos successfully reached the ethical benchmark required within this sector in order to attain Ethical Accreditation and, specifically, an Ethical Company Award from The Good Shopping Guide.
Will Sankey, CEO of The Good Shopping Guide said – “The banking sector has many ethical issues ranging from investments in fossil fuel companies to support for weapons manufacturers. It is crucial that consumers know and trust how a bank uses their money. We congratulate Triodos on attaining an Ethical Company Award. We were especially impressed by Triodos Bank’s external commitments to ethical issues through their membership of The Climate Coalition, Green Alliance and The Aldersgate Group, as well as co-founding the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. We are pleased to be able to recommend Triodos as an ethically accredited bank.”
Bevis Watts, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, stated that: “Sustainability has been at the heart of Triodos since the bank was formed – and we’ve been offering UK customers values-based banking for over 25 years. While we’re pleased to see more and more banks considering environmental and social issues, it can be hard for customers to feel confident around some of these claims. Trusted, independent ethical accreditations like the Ethical Company Award are one of the important ways that we can reassure people of the positive impact they can have by banking with us.”
On addressing the increasing demand from the public for trusted ethical financial services Will Sankey added: ‘Whilst Triodos are leading the way in ethical financial services, we believe that the public will increasingly look for ethical and sustainable companies and brands when making their banking, financial and investment decisions. In contrast to many financial institutions, we found Triodos to be one of the leaders in positive lending for environmental and social benefit. This includes having strict minimum standards for areas to exclude from investments. At The Good Shopping Guide, we are constantly developing our research and Ethical Accreditation Awards, together with new services and public engagement to provide more information on sustainable practices and to encourage more companies in this sector to follow the example set by Triodos’.
Triodos Bank UK was awarded the top rating of 100 in The Good Shopping Guide Ethical Banks and Building Societies Ethical Rating Table which is available for all to see on our website and using the following link Ethical Banks & Building Societies Ethical Rating Table. This score compares with the low scores achieved by some of the best known high street banks at the bottom of our ratings table.