The UK's Five Dirtiest and Greenest Banks

In a perfect world, we’d love it if every bank was as green as possible and we were well on our way to fixing our climate. But unfortunately, as you know, that’s just not the case.  

So 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.  

Our ratings are based on a new methodology that we’ve developed to evaluate banks large and small for sustainable practices. We draw our data from many sources and consider factors including how much financing a bank provides to the fossil fuel industry, how transparent they are about the emissions this financing enables, and what other policies and product offerings they have that impact the climate. 

In 2016, the world came together and breathed life into the global fight against climate change by signing the historic Paris Agreement. These accords committed every country to taking steps to limit the rise of the Earth's temperature. And for countries to live up to these goals, the banks in those countries must stop funding fossil fuels. Some of these banks might be making progress, but the science is clear that we must massively pick up the pace of CO2 reductions if we are to have a shot at avoiding climate catastrophe.  

Top 5 Dirtiest Banks in the UK 

Without further ado, let’s start with the 5 Dirtiest Banks in the UK. (There are some others that are just as bad, but only serve specific niches such as people with megayachts.) Every bank in this list is a winner in financing climate chaos. Please clap if you hate the planet. 

#5 JP Morgan Chase 

Despite being number one in the world for fossil fuel financing, this bank’s relatively small presence in the UK puts them at #5 on our list. Congratulations, Chase, for landing number 5 on a technicality.  

This bank is taking small steps toward clearing up their mess. Well, sort of. JP Morgan Chase has committed to phasing out its exposure to coal mining companies by 2024, but only for companies that make more than 50% of their revenue from coal. This leaves plenty of wiggle room for them to profit handsomely from one of the dirtiest fuels. 

#4 Standard Chartered 

Standard Chartered finances heaps of fossil fuels, but very few renewables — and that ratio wins it the number four spot on our list. Renewables make up a measly 0.001% compared to what they finance for fossil fuels. To make matters worse, the bank holds toxic bonds, a key method for funding fossil fuel expansion. Unlike stocks, which represent shares in a company and tend to attract more attention, bonds are a way to loan money to a company so they can expand — such as expanding their oil drilling operations — and something that tends to slide under the radar. The bank buys these bonds with depositor money specifically to fund fossil fuels. Maybe they just really like helping companies make energy from dinosaur bones, but we feel like they could do more to help the planet. 

#3 Santander 

Santander is an absolutely massive bank that has an abysmal track record on sustainability – and they are funding destruction of one of the most important natural wonders for sequestering CO2. The Amazon rainforest is known as “the earth’s lungs” and plays a critical role in keeping our planet cool. Despite this, in 2023, Santander was number five on the list of financiers of Amazon oil and gas extraction. That wasn’t their only way of putting profits over the planet, though. Since 2016, they have poured just under $80B into fossil fuels. 

#2 HSBC 

HSBC is a behemoth in the banking sector. By some measures, it is the largest bank in the UK. It’s thus especially disappointing that instead of leading the way to a more sustainable future, HSBC continues to use its massive influence to hurt our planet. Speaking of influence, HSBC doesn’t just finance climate change; it also lobbies against climate legislation. HSBC is another bank that makes a show about how they are trying to help the planet, but unfortunately, their oil & gas exclusion policy is one of the lowest rated by climate research NGO, Reclaim Finance. To make matters worse, since 2016, they have invested $192B into fossil fuels. 

#1 Barclays  

There’s no other way to put this: Barclays has a long way to go to clean up its act. Despite the IAE's statement that new oil and gas projects have no place in the transition to net-zero, Barclays still has no restrictions on financing oil and gas expansion. The bank has made statements that make it sound like they’re cutting coal out of their business, but the language they use allows for many exceptions, and there is strong evidence of continued ties with the coal industry. The bank does offer green homes incentives, but to put this in perspective, they would need to zero out the emissions of around 70% of the entire UK housing sector in order to equal the 47.1 MtCO2e of energy sector emissions they plan to still fund at least through 2030. 

Wow. If you had trouble getting through all those, you’re not alone! Reading about the room for improvement in the dirtiest banks might feel all doom-and-gloom, but don’t lose hope! One of the best things about our methodology is that it also confirms that there are some really great banks out there, setting good examples for how finance and sustainability can work together for a better future. Is your bank in the top 5 greenest? Let’s find out! 

Top 5 Greenest Banks in the UK 

The greenest banks we list below are ones that anyone living in the UK can access. However, there are some that are even greener, but are only available to a few UK residents. We want to specifically call out CAF Bank and Charity Bank who have both done spectacular work in making themselves the greenest banks in the UK. Unfortunately, they only service nonprofits – but if you are connected to a nonprofit, consider this a strong recommendation to join up with them! 

#5 OakNorth Bank  

In 2019 Oaknorth became one of the first banks to offset its Scope 1 and 2 emissions to net zero. They aim to become net zero across the board by 2035 and have solid interim targets, including a 60% reduction (from the 2022 baseline) of Scope 3 financed emissions from their loan book by 2030 and bringing their supply chain emissions to net zero by 2028. Currently, 20% of its loans support businesses that place sustainability at the heart of their offering. And even better, 83% of OakNorth-funded property investments have an EPC C energy efficiency rating or above. We love a bank that commits so hard to being green! 

#4 The Co-operative Bank 

The Co-operative Bank is the only high-street bank in the UK with a customer-led ethical policy. It offers an array of banking services to suit all needs.  The bank lives by its values by providing substantial financial support to environmental causes such as renewable energy and biodiversity protection. Co-operative currently offers green bonds, and also plans to roll out options for green mortgages soon. And if you want to make your little piece of the UK a bit more energy efficient, they have loans to help mortgage holders do so. Cue the biodegradable confetti for The Co-Operative Bank! 

#3 Metro Bank 

Metro has pledged not to fund the extraction of fossil fuels or their use for power generation, and Bank.Green has confirmed that the bank is sticking to this pledge. The banks also says they will not lend money directly for coal mining; peat, oil or gas extraction; or deforestation activities. Metro Bank also promises to ensure their operations are net zero by 2030, and to bring their operations, supply chain, and financed emissions to net zero by 2050. Along with this roadmap, they have also committed to using the PCAF methodology, which is a unified measure of how much carbon a financial institution’s activities generate. And for the cherry on top of the green sundae, they’ve also committed to using only 100% renewable energy sources. 

#2 Nationwide 

Let’s tick off the big items first: Nationwide has a clear policy stating it does not lend to companies in the fossil fuel sector, it measures the greenhouse gases generated by its loans and it has credible climate targets, which are all of the things we want to see banks doing. In addition to all this, Nationwide currently offers green mortgages that offer lower initial interest rates on home loans intended for energy-efficiency upgrades. Customers can also get £500 cashback when they buy a home with a high Energy Performance Certificate score. We also love that they’ve committed to be net-zero by 2050. Their intermediate goals include continuing to source 100% of their electricity from renewable sources and being gas-free by 2030. A truly excellent bank, Nationwide was narrowly pipped to the post by... 

#1 Triodos 

And we have a champion! Triodos has continued in their strong track record of commitment to sustainability and transparency. Its website provides a plethora of tools that show where and how it invests. But it doesn’t stop there. Triodos is also active in trying to improve the financial sector as a whole, having co-authored the UN Principles for Responsible Banking as well as co-founding the Global Alliance of Banking on Values. It was also the first bank to join the global campaign for a proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, meant to help phase out the expansion of coal, oil, and gas for good. Triodos doesn’t just do good – it is also proactively leading the way for other financial institutions to join it. Triodos has also recently launched a new debit card made from recycled plastic that will soon enable faster mobile payments such as Apple Pay.

Was your bank on one of these lists? Want to know more about these or see how yours rates? You can find more info about all of these and more with Bank.Green’s bank search.