Atom bank has purchased 25 acres of newly planted broadleaf woodland in Northumberland as part of its commitment to become a climate positive bank by 2035.
The woodland is expected to sequester 7,000 tonnes of carbon over its lifetime, matching the bank’s operational emissions since its founding in 2014.
Direct ownership of the woodland will enable Atom to assess its environmental impact more effectively and avoid complications associated with remote carbon credits, potentially establishing a new model for banks managing emissions.
The bank’s operational emissions, excluding financed emissions, currently range between 500 and 700 tonnes per year.
Atom’s strategy includes reducing the carbon intensity of its lending and investing in natural capital projects.
The bank plans to acquire or lend on an additional 100 hectares of land this financial year.
The woodland is registered under the England Woodland Creation scheme, preventing it from counting as a source of biodiversity credits.
However, the Government supports net habitat gains through a new programme of credits for developers to offset habitat losses.
Atom bank is exploring projects that can create biodiversity net gain credits to support housing development while promoting new habitats.
Atom bank is a member of Bankers for Net Zero and measures its carbon impact in its annual carbon report.
In the last financial year, Atom reported a total carbon impact of 658.44 tCO2e, a reduction of 2.2% from the previous year while increasing operating profit by 600%.
The bank has begun measuring financed emissions related to its lending and will report these in its upcoming carbon report for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Mark Mullen, chief executive of Atom bank, 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.”
Mullen added: “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.”
Twiddy added: “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”
