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Fossil-Free Certification by independent NGO Bank Green for Teachers Mutual Bank Limited

Key points 

  • The bank is awarded the symbol Fossil-Free Certified by independent NGO Bank Green, as part of its Fossil Free Alliance campaign for consumers
  • Bank Green’s Criteria are ‘Financial institutions that are Fossil Free Certified have pledged not to finance new fossil fuel companies or projects, and the majority already do not do so’
  • Teachers Mutual Bank Limited and its five brands (Teachers Mutual Bank, Firefighters Mutual Bank, Health Professionals Bank, UniBank and Hiver) are included 

About Bank Green

Bank.Green is a not-for-profit that aims to educate the public on the environmental destruction funded by the banking industry, while fostering an empowered community to take action. As well as their online bank-switching tool, they are building an alliance of fossil-free banking institutions with their “fossil-free” certification scheme, making it easier for consumers to identify and switch to sustainable banks.

Financial institutions that are Fossil Free Certified have pledged not to finance new fossil fuel companies or projects, and the majority already do not do so. Fossil Free Certification is the simplest, most straightforward way to signal to customers, professionals in the banking sector, and the general public that a sustainability-conscious financial institution is truly putting its money where its mouth is.

The initiative represents a growing group of financial institutions from around the world that do not - and will not - finance fossil fuel companies or projects. Bank.Green has established a free, independent verification process, which any bank can embark upon. Successful applicants become Fossil Free Certified and join the alliance. Fossil Free Certification helps banks to proudly broadcast their values and increase visibility to climate-conscious customers, job-hunters, and data-driven consumer platforms.

“There are a lot of fossil-free banks out there that don’t have a way of shouting about it yet”, say Zak Gottlieb, director and co-founder of Bank.Green. “Fossil Free Certification is the simplest way to signal to customers, professionals in the banking sector, and the general public that a sustainability-conscious financial institution is putting its money where its mouth is.”

Financial Institutions with the symbol form a part of our Fossil Free Alliance. They have gone on the record as stating, going forward, they will play no part in the provision of loans, underwriting or investments to aid the expansion of fossil fuel extraction, production or infrastructure – and never have. 

Bank Green Definition 

Broadly, a sustainable bank is a bank that prioritises people and planet over profit. Our goal is to end fossil fuel financing - therefore we focus on banks that are sustainable because they refuse to provide financial assistance to the fossil fuels industry.

Bank rating system - bank ratings fall into four categories: “Great,” “Ok”, “Bad,” and “Worst.”

  • Banks rated Great have agreed to not provide any further financing to the fossil fuel industry, and in the majority of cases they never have. We ask banks this ourselves and also rely on third-party verification in some cases.
  • In addition to our own research, we draw on the work of several organizations that investigate the funding activities of the world’s biggest banks on a regular basis. Rainforest Action Network BankTrack, Reclaim Finance Market Forces, Fair Finance International, Global Alliance of Banking Values, B Impact Assessment