Our economic choices have a huge impact on the environment, the community and the future of our children. That’s how we can make the difference
This article is sponsored by Banca Etica. Here you will find a more exhaustive explanation.
Every day we make small and large decisions that reflect our values: from food expenditure to the use of means of transport, from attention to sustainability to education of our children. We commit ourselves to the environment, for the care of the common good, but what we are perhaps used to doing less is to ask us whether our current account is going in the same direction or not.
The way money is managed has a concrete impact on people, the environment and on the society in which we live. Just expand the horizon to realize that the traditional banks to which many rely on the opening of current accounts and other products continue to finance controversial sectors that concern fossil fuels, weapons, gambling and financial speculation. According to the report Banking on climate Chaos 2024the 60 main global banks have invested over 6,900 billion dollars in the sector of fossil sources from 2016 to today (669 billion only in 2022), and this despite the commitments made with theParis agreement on the climate of 2015 And this happens with our savings deposited and invested, without necessarily aware of it.
Unfortunately, Italy is no exception, with very well -known credit institutions that still actively support industries harmful to people and the planet.
An example of concrete action to counter this phenomenon is the initiative of the climate family mothers NYC, a movement that is carrying out a battle to push banks to divest from fossil fuels and to reorient their funding towards sustainable sectors. This network of activist families is demonstrating how the commitment from below can influence the financial sector and raise awareness of public opinion on the subject.
Ethical finance: a conscious choice
Changing this scenario is also possible thanks to the help of ethical finance, capable of offering a concrete alternative: investments in only sustainable sectors, excluding the “harmful” sectors and promoting an economy that respects people and the environment. This financial sector has shown significant growth in recent years. The most recent data indicate that the active in charge of European ethical banks reached 79.2 billion euros in 2022, with an increase of 54.5% compared to 2018. The credits paid by 45%, reaching 58.2 billion euros, while the deposits are more than doubled, reaching 61.1 billion euros.
A virtuous example – as well as the only banking institution in Italy dedicated exclusively to ethical finance – is that Banca Etica, which for over 25 years has only supported projects that guarantee a positive social and environmental impact, financing renewable energies, social inclusion, cooperation and culture. Just to give some examples, over time the Banca Etica group has financed agricultural cooperatives that promote organic agriculture and the short chain, has supported social enterprises that offer job opportunities to disadvantaged people and has invested in social housing projects to guarantee access to a dignified home to those who need it most.
Unlike traditional banks, which can hide their investments in harmful sectors behind Greenwashing practices, ethical finance requires rigorous exclusion criteria: it does not finance fossil fuels, war industry, gambling and other harmful and speculative activities. Banca Etica is also among the very few banks to make any funding granted public, allowing customers to verify the concrete impact of their money (the data are available on the Banca Etica website, to the Bancaetica.it/financing page and in the impact report published annually).
A bank, therefore, which is proposed not only as a credit institution, but as an instrument of economic and social change, following the principle that every euro deposited contributes to building a more just economy, attentive to the needs of people and the environment.
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A transparent and participatory bank model
The principle is that of the Cooperative Popular Banca, owned by thousands of members, with a democratic governance based on the principle “a head, a vote”. This means that each shareholder has the same decision -making weight, regardless of the entity of the invested capital, a model, this, which guarantees independence from speculative logic and ensures that the financial choices are oriented to the common good.
Then there is no ethical finance if there is no transparency. And precisely on this aspect it should be emphasized that Banca Etica is the only bank in Italy that publishes online the complete list of funding granted, allowing customers to know exactly where their money end. In addition, each loan granted is assessed not only from an economic point of view, but also for its social and environmental impact through a unique socio-environmental investigation in the sector.
Banca Etica also adheres to the Treaty of non -proliferation of fossil fuels, first collective adhesion by financial institutions to ask governments to stop the expansion of coal, oil and gas; He is the founding component of the Global Alliance for Banking On Values (Gara), a world network of banks engaged in ethical finance, and actively participates in campaigns for social and environmental justice. This commitment translates into the original choice to refuse the granting of any funding to companies that violate human rights, in constant attention to the pursuit of ESG criteria (environmental, social and governance) and in support to those who promote models of circular economy.
Money as a tool for change
According to the Impact Report 202498% of funding provided by Banca Etica during the previous year were intended for “impactful” companies, ie innovative companies that offer products, services or business models aimed at solving social or environmental problems, which promote energy transition, social inclusion and circular economy. In particular:
- renewable energies, organic agriculture, circular economy and waste reduction;
- working inclusion, welfare, right to the house;
- fair and solidarity cooperation and commerce at an international level;
- projects for the fight against organized crime and support for usury victims;
Investment can also concern innovative finance, and in this case we find tools such as impact bonds, which allow savers to allocate their investment to key sectors such as education, culture, clean energy and microcredit.
One account that applies to the planet
The risk that our current account ends up in the “wrong hands”, therefore, that the arms industry, the fossil energy sector, gambling and financial speculation, is unfortunately concrete. Choosing ethical finance means knowing exactly how our money will be used and, therefore, protect not only their savings, but also invest in the future of our children and the community
Current accounts, loans, ethical mortgages, responsible investments: the financial products available to users are different, and have the advantage of remaining competitive without descending ethical compromises. Change bank thus becomes not only a financial choice, but a concrete gesture for a more fair and sustainable world. Because every euro deposited can make a difference.
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