Earth Day 2022 – Invest In Our Planet
The theme for Earth Day 2022 is ‘Invest in our Planet’ and this year the day is focused on accelerating solutions to combat our greatest threat, climate change, and to activate everyone – governments, citizens, and businesses – to do their part.
As a responsible finance provider, this is something we are 100% behind. The campaign website says this:
This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods.
For Earth Day 2022, we need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.
We couldn’t agree more. With our lending, we seek to build the world we want to see and our Ethical Policy includes both positive and negative criteria which guide our investment decisions. On environmental matters, these include the following positive criteria
- Companies which provide solutions to climate change through the development, promotion and/or use of renewable energy and energy efficiency.
- Companies which promote recycling and sustainable waste management.
- Companies which operate good environmental practice.
and negative criteria
- Companies which have been convicted of serious environmental pollution.
- Companies which use timber from unsustainable sources.
- Companies which manufacture and/or distribute pesticide products which are harmful to the environment.
It is clear that business is powerful – we can all see the harms that have been caused by doing things the old way. We urge other finance providers to follow our lead and commit to building a better world, for us all, this Earth Day and beyond.
FInd out more about Earth Day here