Durham-based Atom Bank, the UK’s first app-based bank, said it has bought 25 acres of newly planted broadleaf woodland in Northumberland in a “significant investment” in its “journey to becoming climate positive by 2035.”
Atom Bank said the wood “will sequester nearly 7,000 tonnes of CO2” as it matures.
“This will be equivalent to the amount of carbon we have produced from our operations since we were founded in 2014,” said Atom Bank.
“This investment is a key part of our commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and investing in natural capital projects, with the aim of becoming climate positive by 2035.
“Our pledge includes our operational emissions and any emissions associated with our lending, making Atom the first and only UK bank to commit to this target.”
Atom Bank said its 25 acres of broadleaf woodland sits on the site of an old open-cast coal mine, just inland from Druridge Bay in Northumberland.
“This puts the wood around one hour’s drive from our headquarters in Durham, so we’re also helping to promote and conserve the spectacular greenery of our own region,” said Atom.
“The woodland was planted approximately 18 months ago, and is made up of species including willow, sycamore, birch, alder and rowan. Obviously, the trees are very young and just emerging from their protective tubing that give them some protection from the elements and the critters that happily munch their way through young trees.”
Atom Bank CEO Mark Mullen said: “We’ve made this significant investment in an area local to Atom because we recognise the responsibility we have to our planet. We could have invested this money in employing more people or launching new products — as to be fair we usually do — but this time we chose trees. In time these trees should store more CO2 than our company has been responsible for emitting in all the years since we were founded.
“We know our customers usually choose Atom because we offer excellent value for money and first-class customer service. But we also want our customers to know their bank is trying to do the right thing. The planet doesn’t care about us, it will keep spinning with or without us populating it, but we all rely on its health for our future existence. So we need to make smarter choices about the companies we deal with, and that includes banks.
“This is an important step as we target becoming climate positive by 2035, which means we will take more carbon out of the atmosphere through our lending and investment choices than we are responsible for emitting. We could have gotten away with promising less, but companies really must do more.”
Ed Twiddy, Director of ESG at Atom bank, said: “Atom is a business designed for the future, changing banking for the better. We want to and can do more to actively reduce and then reverse our impact on the environment, especially as we grow as a business. This is a challenge but we believe that the efficiency of our operating model combined with a drive to innovate in everything that we do means that we can demonstrate real leadership for the sector.
“As a lender, we’re responsible not only for the carbon coming from our day to day operations and travel but also for a proportion of the emissions from the homes and businesses that we finance. This creates a really significant challenge for us and all other banks — but the same leverage and lending on our balance sheets that funds our profitability and drives these emissions is also part of the answer to how we reverse the emissions whilst retaining the commercial success of the bank.
“Directly owning this woodland and putting our balance sheet to work in a different way is one example of how the power of the banking model, combined with a value set that prioritises doing the right thing, can be turned in favour of both the planet and a profitable future for Atom.”