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Bank.Green Blog:

Stories and Tips for Divesting From Fossil Fuels

Climate Responsibility in Banking: Useful Data Sources for Green Consumers (Chapter 8)

In episode 8 of Bank.Green's series, Katherine explains the key data sources Bank.Green uses to assess banks’ climate impact – she dives into the significance of financial statements, sustainability reports, and the Toxic Bonds database when examining your bank. If that sounds scary, she also highlights how to interpret these sources. Key takeaways: measurable data in these reports is crucial, as are clear policies and credible transition plans.

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Our Reverse Call For Proposals

Bank.Green's "Reverse Call for Proposals" flips traditional philanthropy by inviting funders to propose how they'll support ending fossil-fuel finance. Seeking up to $450,000 annually across three funding tiers, the initiative aims to scale consumer-led divestment campaigns, strengthen digital infrastructure, and position Bank.Green as a global leader in climate-aligned banking advocacy.

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Banks' Efforts to Decarbonise (Chapter 7)

What are financed emissions, you ask? This back-to-school episode dives into the importance of banks disclosing their highest-emission activities — all buried within their financing.

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How Political Backlash Against ESG Is Undermining Bank Decarbonisation 

ESG began in the 1960s to help investors align their investments with their values and has evolved into a standard approach to assessing corporate responsibility. For banks, this includes reducing financed emissions and enhancing transparency. However, in the U.S., ESG has become a politically divisive issue.

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Fossil Fuel Expansion (Chapter 6)

In this episode of Bank.Green’s series, Katherine breaks down the concept of fossil fuel expansion and shares our perspective on the practice at Bank.Green. She also explains how this activity is incorporated into our online bank-rating system. Don’t have time to watch the video? Read our blog instead!

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Bank Greenwashing (Chapter 5)

In this episode of the series, Katherine dives into the world of the famous climate buzzword –greenwashing. What is it, why do banks do it, what happens when they get caught in the greenwashing act? We break down greenwashing red flags, from glaringly obvious signs to subtle indicators. Ever wondered how to act on a bank's suspected greenwashing activity? Read, or watch, Katherine's top tips.

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Climate Anxiety and the Shock Doctrine: How Power Exploits Our Fear

Climate anxiety is real — and justified. As the impacts of climate change accelerate, so do attempts to roll back protections, weaken oversight, and prop up fossil fuel interests under the guise of “efficiency” or “recovery.” This blog explores how overlapping crises are being used as cover, and offers two key dimensions for dealing with climate anxiety: understanding the broader political playbook, and taking meaningful action, both individually and collectively.

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Bank Climate Targets (Chapter 4)

In the fourth episode of our Climate Responsibility in Banking series, Katherine addresses what banks mean when they talk about “net zero” and climate targets. We unpack climate-jargon, expose banks' greenwashing pitfalls, and reveal what credible climate commitments look like in banking. Read on for practical tips to spot real progress – and empty promises – in your bank’s climate claims.

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Bank Climate Policies (Chapter 3)

In episode three of Bank.Green’s new series, Katherine touches on financial institutions’ policies, specifically exclusion policies. Not sure what those are and how they matter in the energy transition? This blog's got you covered.

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: Bank Types & Their Fossil Fuel Investments (Chapter 2)

In episode two of Bank.Green’s series, Katherine explores financial institutions’ lending practices—from community banks to global players—highlighting their impact on fossil fuels and the renewable transition. Learn why climate-friendly lending matters by watching our video or read on for more!

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Climate Responsibility in Banking: How Banking Works (Chapter 1)

In the first episode of Bank.Green’s educational series, Katherine, Head of Ratings, breaks down how banks operate, from lending and investments to underwriting. Learn how banks allocate your deposits, including funding fossil fuels, and why their choices impact the climate.

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Watchtower: A New Tool For Exposing Greenwashing In Finance

Introducing Watchtower, Bank.Green’s AI-driven tool that identifies when banks fail to match sustainability promises with their actual financing activities. Learn how we're using data to expose greenwashing, enhance transparency in financial institutions, and support stakeholders advocating for stronger climate accountability.

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Weighing in on South African Banks

How are South Africa’s biggest banks performing on climate responsibility? Our latest ratings reveal whether they fund renewable energy or back fossil fuels. Transparency, exclusion policies, and emissions reporting all play a role. Find out how your bank scored and what needs to change for real climate action.

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Oh, Canada, How Green are Your Banks?

Canada’s banks aren’t as green as you might hope. Our latest analysis shows 72% need improvement on climate responsibility, with the Big 6 among the worst offenders, continuing to fund fossil fuels. But there’s hope! Vancity leads the way, investing in clean energy, offering green products, and setting real climate targets. Is your bank part of the solution?

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Irish Banks Rated: The Greenest Banks are Irish Banks

Irish banks are leaders in green banking, with top ratings for AIB, Bank of Ireland, and Permanent TSB. Credit unions also avoid fossil fuel financing, though greater transparency is needed. Meanwhile, global corporate banks in Ireland continue to fund fossil fuels. Stay informed and make sure your bank isn't funding fossil fuel companies.

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Beyond Banks: Uncovering the Role of Insurance Companies in Fueling the Climate Crisis

Since 2021, Bank.Green has rated banks on their fossil fuel lending and provided green alternatives. Now, we're rating insurance companies, too. Many insurers invest billions in fossil fuels while denying coverage to disaster-stricken communities. Our new section will help you choose a more sustainable insurer.

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Prisoners' dilemmas and the NZBA

Game theory explains why US banks are dropping out of the Net Zero Banking Alliance. Banks are dropping out to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration. Their continued pursuit of alpha at the expense of beta is likely to make everyone losers in this game.

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How Project 2025 and Agenda 47 Could Shape U.S. Climate Policy

Project 2025, a Heritage Foundation initiative, and Agenda 47, Trump’s policy blueprint, propose expanding fossil fuels, dismantling environmental protections, and undermining renewable energy. This article examines their potential global climate impacts and the risks these conservative U.S. agendas pose.

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US Banks: An Examination of Climate Accountability

Our key findings from our review of the 90 largest US banking institutions. Widespread fossil fuel financing and a lack of transparency around financing activities dominate the sector. Our rankings highlight which banks are failing to address the climate crisis and the few leading the way toward a more sustainable future.

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Green League Table: US Banks (2024)

Our comprehensive analysis ranks 90 of the largest US banking institutions based on key climate metrics. We provide an independent, data-driven evaluation of each bank’s environmental impact, helping consumers make informed decisions about which banks align with their sustainability values.

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It’s Time. Be a Positive Tipping Point!

It takes just a small percentage of people to act as positive tipping points to bring about significant transformations, like switching to green banks.

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Four Easy Things Banks Can Do To Get Greener

There’s an amazingly long list of low-hanging fruit which banks could use to reduce emissions, both their own and globally, while contributing to sustainable banking practices.

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UK Green Mortgages and Other Green Banking Products

Green banking and green mortgages are great. They’re equally beneficial for both your pocket and the environment, as long as they’re the real deal.

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Are Building Societies Really a Greener Option for Your Money?

Seems like an obvious question, with an obvious answer: Building Societies are set up and owned by their members, with their sole purpose to finance mortgages for their members, so they shouldn’t contribute to fossil financing…right? 

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Stranded Assets: Why The World Must Leave Fossil Fuels Behind

As time goes on, and as the Net-Zero future grows closer, we’re (allegedly) using fossil fuels less and less. So, what does that mean for the investments and funding that our dearest and nearest banks are giving to the fossil fuel industry?

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Fossil Fuel Banks and Their Curiously Positive Attitude: A Greenwashing Guide

Banks use words like a smokescreen. They firmly believe that if you just close your eyes against that pesky smoke and keep on walking, you won’t even notice you’ve walked into a bonfire. Learn how to navigate through it.

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The UK's Five Dirtiest and Greenest Banks

It’s time for Bank.Green to unveil the UK’s top five dirtiest and greenest banks of 2024. The banks in this list are banks that anyone in the UK can bank with. If you care about the future of our planet, then you will want to keep your money away from the banks in the dirtiest banks list and place it with the banks in the cleanest banks list.  

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How Sustainable Are Credit Unions?

Here at Bank.Green, we wanted to know if credit unions are taking an active role in funding, or fighting, the fossil fuel industry. Are you ready for the big reveal? 

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We Have Reviewed All Major UK Banking Institutions. Here Is What We Found.

Our key findings from our review of 103 banking institutions. Our analysis reveals a mixed picture, with some banks making progress while others continue to finance environmentally harmful activities. We highlight the issues and opportunities we uncovered and share steps you can take to support a more sustainable banking sector.

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Green League Table: UK Banks (2024)

To coincide with the release of our new ratings methodology, we have ranked 103 UK-headquartered banks, overseas banks with UK branches, building societies, and bank-like financial institutions on their climate performance. Discover how your bank stacks up and take action for a greener future. (Above image courtesy of Stacey Knipe on Unsplash.)

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Will Switching Banks Affect My Credit Score? Busting Green Banking Misconceptions

Switching from a dirty bank to a green bank is a great way to help our planet, but there are some things you should keep in mind as you make the switch. So, let’s clear up a few of the common misconceptions about green banks and learn how good finance can also be good for the planet!

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Eight Simple Steps to Switching Your Bank 

Switching banks is truly not that difficult. And you don’t have to do it all in one day. We’ll walk you through the steps here.   

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Green Banks That Offer Great Customer Service, According to Ipsos

Yesterday Ipsos released its "Personal Banking Service Quality" report. But Ipsos doesn’t differentiate between fossil-fuel funding offenders and green banks, so we’ve decided to do it for them. After all, what better customer service can a bank offer than to not burn down the planet?

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How We Ditched Our Dirty Banks (and How You Can as Well)

Five members of the Bank.Green team share their stories about switching banks. Learn how they found their new banks, how they made the switch, and their advice for making your switch even smoother.

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Greenwashing: Investments Edition

Fund managers slap “green” or “ethical” on investment vehicles that are full of fossil fuels, and investments come rolling in. They count on the fact that customers won’t look too closely at what the fund contains. Let’s unpack how they slip these dirty funds into the portfolios of customers looking for carbon-free investments.

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COP28 and Finance: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 

Cop28 finally uttered the words "fossil fuels," and created more funding for developing nations to reduce carbon. But none of the banks sponsoring Cop28 have signed on to net zero targets.

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These 10 Great Sustainable Finance Books Could Make You an Expert

Sustainable finance is a rapidly evolving discipline with many different perspectives. If you’re just starting to learn about it, we’ve developed a list of books that provide an excellent background.

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Meet the Money Movers

This collection of Bank.Green stories showcases some of those who have reclaimed control of their money by moving it out of fossil fuels. From Ireland to the Netherlands, and new parents to small business owners, we hope these testimonials inspire you.

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Bank Greenwashing: Social Media Edition

For the second in our greenwashing series, we look at the ways in which the world’s biggest fossil fuel banks use Twitter and Instagram to sanitise their activities to consumers. Right this way for slick videos, earnest reports, and many, many solar panels.

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A Major British Bank is Broadcasting our Green Banking Message

The Co-operative Bank is currently running an awareness campaign across British TV, radio, social media, and public locations that asks: “Do you know how your bank invests your money?” We’re frankly relieved that the message is getting out.

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What Happened to the Final Part of the UN’s Big Climate Change Report?

The IPCC published a major report one year ago – and it was major news. But it was only the first of three parts. Part III explains exactly how we reign in climate change, but it was released while the world’s attention was on Ukraine. It’s time to platform Part III again.

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How to De-Fund Putin’s Gas Company

Are you feeling helpless about the war in Ukraine? How is one person supposed to make a difference? Because of the ways in which finance works, you’re not as helpless as you might feel. Here’s how to simultaneously cripple Putin and mitigate climate chaos.

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Sustainable Banking Stories That Give Us Hope

Confronting banks that continue to finance a fossil-fuelled future is, quite frankly, distressing. So, we’ve decided to focus on a collection of great banking stories from around the world. If you’re unsure about moving your money to a better bank, here’s your inspiration.

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The Four Steps We Take To Generate Our Bank Ratings

How do we know enough about the activities of banks to be able to build a rating system? Well, it takes a lot of work. To give you an insight into that work, we've broken down the method we use to categorize the financing activities of an ever-growing number of retail banks.

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Bank Greenwashing: Website Edition

Banks are under pressure to take climate action, which is a great opportunity to whack some wholesome messaging on their websites. But what if those same banks are also financing environmental devastation? Welcome to greenwashing.

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A Brief Guide to the Latest IPCC Report on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently published its latest report. We take a look at what it means and why we must take urgent action now more than ever.

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COP26: Success is the Only Option

If you're familiar with the term COP26, you probably feel like it's been talked about for so long that it must already be over. Well, after a 12-month Covid-19 postponement, COP26 is on the horizon: October 31 to November 12, in Glasgow.

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Line 3: An Unthinkable Pipeline Powered by Our Cash

Banks continue to use our money to enable fossil fuel megaprojects. With Keystone XL blocked by Biden, the Line 3 “Replacement” Project is now a headline battle in North America’s pipeline war. Is your bank financing this quest for unimaginable greenhouse gas emissions?

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A Conquistador, the Climate Crisis, and the Finances of Atrocity

Hernán Cortés, the conquistador who toppled the Aztec Empire, was a man of terrible and unrelenting ambition. Yet his conquests shrank as time went on. Learn about how Cortés’ crimes were brought to a halt, as the crimes of the climate crisis can be too.

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