Welcoming the Chancellor’s invitation to major banks and lending organisations to seize the opportunities of a new market in green financial products, the Bank’s Chief Executive David Anderson today (21 March) revealed that The Co-operative Bank is already working on new eco features to be built into its mortgage portfolio.
“As the financial institution in the vanguard of green loans we very much agree with Gordon Brown. It is widely acknowledged that households are one of the biggest energy users and so anything we can do to help make homes more energy efficient can only help reduce the UK’s carbon footprint.
“As part of the Bank’s established ethical policy we are committed to tackling climate change and supportive of government efforts to increase awareness of energy efficiency.
“We plan to extend our green mortgage proposition, which is currently available on all our products, by developing an innovative solution to reward and encourage homeowners to actively reduce their CO2 emissions."
“We are convinced that green mortgages will be the most common form of home loan in the future and that is why we are working on several features that will make our range even more eco-friendly.”
"This together with our other green products, such as our eco motor insurance and our ethically screened fund will directly or in directly help our customers reduce their carbon footprint."
For every mortgage on its books the Co-operative Bank makes a donation to an organisation dedicated to combating climate change. This year the amount donated since it launched green mortgages in 2000 will reach almost £1.5million.
For house purchases, customers will also receive a free Home Energy Report with their valuation that provides advice on making their home more energy efficient.
