Shropshire Climate Action
Cutting Carbon - Restoring Nature - Saving Money
How to green your money
so you don't fund the climate crisis
One of the most important climate actions you can take is to make sure your hard-earned money (in your bank accounts, pensions, investments and insurance policies) is not unintentionally helping to fund fossil fuel production and extraction projects.
Since the landmark Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, Brendan Montague estimates in ‘Banking on our Future’ (Ecologist, 2022) that:
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the top 60 banks globally have injected $2.75 trillion in fossil fuels
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UK banks have contributed over $300 billion
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Insurers like Lloyd's of London, with $30 trillion in capital, are heavily involved.
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A key action you can take to reduce your personal carbon footprint is to move your money into ethical financial alternatives. This includes banks, pension and investment funds, and insurers who prioritise investments in renewables and carbon-neutral initiatives and do not fund fossil fuel projects and other harmful practices such as deforestation.
This section will guide you through the green finance options that are available and give you the tools to use your financial power for the planet’s well-being!
1
Green Your Banking
2
Green your Pension
3
Green your insurance
1. Banking:
How to ditch your fossil fuel supporting bank
& switch to a greener alternative
Banks, through their lending and investment decisions, significantly shape our planet’s future.
Bank Green* states that since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, the Big Five UK high street banks (HSBC, Barclays, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds) have poured £311.3 billion into the fossil fuel sector, and £120 billion into companies at the forefront of oil and gas expansion (*Source: ShareAction’s 2022 Oil & Gas Expansion Report).
So, what can you do to make sure you are not part of the problem?
1.
Check your bank or building society’s ethical rating
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Use Bank Green’s search engine to see if your bank is using your money to fund climate chaos.
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See MotherTree’s Bank League Table which calculates the carbon emissions of major UK banks and reveals the top offenders.
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Use MotherTree’s Money Carbon Calculator for free to calculate your money's impact and get connected with greener banks.
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Look up Good with Money’s league tables for the:
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Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online to see the most up to date rankings of banks and buildings societies in the UK showing 31 current accounts, 50 savings accounts (including ISAs), and 30 small business accounts.
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As a rule of thumb Building Societies are almost always a greener option. Avoid banks such as Barclays and HSBC. Some credit unions also offer current accounts so you can help people and planet at the same time.
2.
Move your money
Use this FREE current account switch service to help you to make the change – it’s so simple!
The switching service will:
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move your money, direct debits and standing orders across to the new account
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close your previous account
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transfer any payments meant to go into your old accounts, for example your salary
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All this takes just 7 working days to clean up your finances!
Your action will make a difference!
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According to MotherTree, £12,500 held in a current account (the average UK household saving figure in 2022) with Barclays, contributes 2.9 tonnes CO2 per year - more than flying from the UK to Rome 14 times. So switching to a greener provider can significantly reduce your carbon footprint!
2. Pensions:
Invest your pension in a greener future
The UK’s pension funds – the largest in Europe – hold more than £2.6 trillion in assets (Source: ShareAction).
Workplace and personal pensions are typically the largest investments individuals make in their lifetime.
But do you know what your pension pot is funding?
This money could be invested in creating a better world but much of it is instead fuelling its destruction. Many pension providers' default funds, the ones people are automatically enrolled in, do not exclude sectors that are harmful to the environment. According to the Finance Innovation Lab:
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£300 billion of UK pension capital is invested in companies with a high risk of driving deforestation
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£88 billion is invested in the fossil fuel industry
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only 4% of the pensions industry’s assets are invested in climate solutions.
Investments in fossil fuels are also risky which could undermine your pension’s long-term security (Source: ShareAction).
According to Make My Money Matter greening your pension is 21 times more effective at reducing your carbon footprint than giving up flying, no longer eating meat and switching energy provider COMBINED.
No pension is perfect but you can take these steps to make yours greener:
1.
Check where your money is going
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Review your pension provider’s investment policy and whether they have policies to exclude or reduce investments in damaging sectors such as fossil fuels.
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Use MotherTree’s Money Carbon Calculator for free to calculate your pension’s impact.
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Check your local authority pension fund using the Divest website.
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Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online to see how 23 major pension providers are ranked.
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View Make My Money Matter’s rankings of the 12 largest UK pension providers on their climate plans here.
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2.
Demand ethical options
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If your pension provider does not offer ethical investment options, don't be afraid to speak up and express your concerns.
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ShareAction can help you lobby your fund manager for carbon divestment. Use their tools to take action.
3.
Switch to an ethical pension fund
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Find an alternative pension provider or funds that prioritise sustainable investments and explicitly exclude fossil fuels and other harmful industries.
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Ethical consumer magazine have published this Pension Guide which you can subscribe to, to find the most ethical pensions. Their top 3 most ethical pension funds are:
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NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) ethical pension fund
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Pension Bee Climate Fund pension
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The People's Pension ethical fund
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Check out this free Good with Money guide - Best ethical pension funds in 2025.
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Before making any decisions about pensions seek professional advice. Ethical consumer magazine has this guide to finding independent financial advisers specialising in ethical investment.
4.
Campaign for change
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Support campaigns for more responsible investment practices which prioritise sustainable and ethical investments.
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The UK Divest website is full of useful information for local grassroots groups who are demanding our public institutions divest from the fossil fuel industry.
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Find your local Divestment campaign here.
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Fossil Free Shropshire is campaigning for Shropshire Council to divest the Shropshire Pension Fund which still invests at least £26 million in the fossil fuel industry.
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Read this guide on how to lobby your local councillors about divestment.
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Write to your MP using UK Divest’s letter proforma.
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Sign the Finance Innovation Lab and 350.org’s petition calling on the UK government to reform the pensions system so it delivers better outcomes for savers and pensioners, the economy and the environment.
Insurance:
Switch to insurance that doesn't cost the earth
Is your home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, car insurance or pet insurance inadvertently funding the climate crisis?
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ShareAction’s Insuring Disaster 2024 report revealed that the insurance sector paid out over $100 billion a year for the last four years in claims related to the impact of global heating. At the same time the insurance companies are continuing to invest in and underwrite increased fossil fuel production and projects which destroy vital ecosystems for agriculture or mining.
Here’s what you can do to make sure your insurance provider is not investing your policyholder premiums in activities that harm the environment.
1.
Research your insurer's investments
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Read ShareAction’s Insuring Disaster 2024 report about the insurance sector which ranks the world’s largest insurers’ approaches to responsible investment and underwriting.
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Use Insure Our Future’s scorecard which provides more in depth analysis of insurance companies underwriting and investing in coal, oil and gas projects.
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Are they being transparent about their investment practices and do they disclose investments in sectors like fossil fuels and deforestation?
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Do they have environmental policies in place to actively exclude investments in industries that contribute to the climate crisis.
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Are they signatories of initiatives like the Principles for Sustainable Insurance.
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Have they received certifications from organisations like B Corp which confirm they meet rigorous social and environmental standards.
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2.
Switch to a more ethical insurance company
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Find an insurer that explicitly avoids supporting industries harmful to the environment and instead invest in renewable energy and conservation efforts.
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View The Good Shopping Guide’s ethical comparison table of the UK’s big insurance providers.
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Read Good with Money’s Best ethical home insurers in 2025.
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Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online and use their Green insurance guides which cover car, house, pet and health insurance.
3.
Campaign for change
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If your insurance provider is part of the problem write to them or share your concerns on social media and tag your insurance provider to encourage them to take action.
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Support Insure Our Future - a global campaign urging insurance companies to stop underwriting and investing in fossil fuels.
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Join Insure our Survival to take direct action outside insurance companies around the UK.