Shining a light on the power of ethical savings

Last week, we helped Europe’s leading sustainable bank, Triodos Bank, to reveal how an increasing number of socially-conscious investors are opting for ISAs which have a positive impact on the planet as well as their pockets.

Triodos Bank offers a range of ethical Cash ISAs, Stocks and Shares ISAs and is now the first UK bank to offer an Innovative Finance ISA thanks to their new crowdfunding platform. All the money invested and saved by their ethically minded customers is used to support organisations which have a positive impact.

The timing of the campaign pivoted around ‘ISA season’, the lead-up to the 5th of April deadline for savers to use their annual £20,000 tax-free allowance. Based on this milestone, Triodos aimed to highlight the social and environmental advantages of choosing to save ethically.

Greenhouse worked with Triodos to commission a consumer survey exploring attitudes towards ethical savings options. It showed that over half of respondents would switch banks if they found their money was being lent in ways which negatively affect people or the environment, and three-quarters of investors want banks to be more transparent about where they put their savings. We interviewed a wide range of customer case studies who talked about why they chose to bank with Triodos and the benefits of saving ethically.

The powerful photography, commissioned by Greenhouse, of each case study resulted in extensive media interest and helped secure coverage in titles including The Mail on Sunday and The Telegraph.

In addition to these case studies, the influential and well-known Oscar-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance offered his support to the campaign, saying: “I believe you can make a conscious, positive choice about banking – just as you can with food, energy or transport. It’s time people woke up to what banks are doing with their money. I’ve banked with Triodos for many years now and appreciate their ethical and transparent approach to supporting environmental, social and cultural change.”

Bevis Watts, Managing Director at Triodos Bank UK, said: “Many savers are putting transparency and positive impact at their top of their criteria. It is time that ISA providers offered the transparency that people deserve – the fact that the vast majority of savers currently have no idea where their bank lends their money isn’t in their interests. At Triodos Bank, we are 100% transparent and in that way, can show that we direct money to help change lives, build stronger communities and protect the environment.”

The  campaign resulted in 16 pieces of standout national coverage (and counting) including The Times, The Guardian, The Mail on Sunday, The Telegraph and The Evening Standard. To date, a total of 55 articles have appeared across national, trade and regional titles, with an estimated readership of almost 33 million.

We believe in the power of ethical finance to create change, and have delivered impactful campaigns for pioneers such as Ethex, CastleField Advisory Partners, Asset Owners Discloser Project, Carbon Tracker and many more. If you’re pioneering positive change in this sector and are looking for PR support, we would love to hear from you.