Ecology Building Society
We love Ecology Building Society! It does everything that we would expect a Great building society to do:
- Does not lend to companies involved in the fossil fuel sector
- Provides finance to renewable energy projects
- Measures and discloses greenhouse gas impacts of its lending
- Has credible climate targets
- Offers green lending products (e.g. incentives for heat pumps)
Have you opened an account with Ecology Building Society since visiting Bank.Green?
Key Facts
Type: Building Society
Mobile Banking: Yes
Environmental Policy: Yes
Founded: 1981
Serving: Consumers & Organisations
Local Branches: No
Products
Checking Accounts: No
Savings Accounts: Yes
Credit Cards: No
Mortgages or Loans: Yes
Business Lending: No
ISAs: Yes
Fees
Overdraft Fee: Yes
Account Maintenance Fee: Yes
Free ATM Network: No
Impact
• In 2022, nearly £70 million of new lending was made to support 340 sustainable properties and projects.
• They offer specialists mortgages for renovation, conversion, and self-build projects. They reward customers who improve the energy efficiency of their building.
• They have committed to achieve Net Zero in business operations by 2030 and Net Zero in lending by 2050 or sooner.
• They are committed to the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance as a founding signatory, building momentum for all financial institutions to align their lending and investments with Net Zero.
• There is detailed reporting on future risk strategy and awareness of risk associated with climate change.
Security
• Ecology Building Society is registered with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so your money is insured against loss up to £85,000 in total.
• They are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
• The website does not mention fraud protection, though they will suspend access if they detect suspicious activity or you report a breach.
• Ecology are members of multiple countrywide networks to keep up-to-date with best practice in their field, including the Building Societies Association and UK Finance.
Service
• You can contact Ecology by phone between 9-5pm, Monday to Friday.
• They are also available by email and social media.
• EBS offers a detailed complaints resolution procedure.
• Internal surveys by Ecology say that 94% of Ecology borrowers rate them as “very good” or “excellent”.
Convenience
• Ecology Building Society has no physical branches, so all accounts are online.
• If you prefer a more analogue approach, Ecology offers accounts which can be opened and maintained by post.
• There is currently no mobile app available.
• Ecology offers a range of specialist mortgages. They’ll look at buildings in a derelict condition, historic or listed buildings, non-standard construction types e.g., timber framed and thatched roofs.
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