Charity Bank has many awards and accreditations attesting to our social mission – but what do they all mean exactly?
As a bank on a social mission to do good, Charity Bank has sought out independent certification of our values and ethics. These help us in our aims to gain the trust of a growing community of savers and borrowers.
Charity Bank currently has accreditation or affiliation with all of the following bodies:
Good Shopping Guide Ethical Company
The Ethical Company Organisation’s researchers monitor the ethics of companies across a wide range of sectors and set a benchmark for corporate behaviour. Banks and building societies are rated on their social and environmental performance. The results are published on The Good Shopping Guide. Charity Bank has been awarded the top spot in the index of ethical banks and building societies for 15 years running.
Living Wage Employer
The Living Wage is an hourly rate of pay which is calculated against the cost of living in the UK. It is monitored independently by the Living Wage Foundation and updated annually so that employees can benefit from pay levels that reflect the true cost of living. Charity Bank became a Living Wage Employer in July 2014. Charity Bank also seeks to work with Living Wage suppliers and encourages those it works with to become accredited.
Responsible Finance Provider
Charity Bank is a member of the Responsible Finance Association, providing affordable and fair finance with a mission to do good. Responsible Finance providers aim to build hope, create opportunity and change lives. They are motivated by the aim to bring social and economic benefits to people and places, rather than putting profits for shareholders ahead of all else.
Social Enterprise Mark
The Social Enterprise Mark is an independently assessed guarantee of a company’s commitment to trading for the benefit of people and the planet. It provides reassurance to consumers that a company is living up to its social and environmental claims. Charity Bank is the only bank in the UK to hold the Social Enterprise Mark, recognising our social purpose and social sector ownership.
Social Enterprise UK
Social Enterprise UK awards badges to independent businesses with a clear social or environmental mission and a policy of transparency about how they operate and the impact they have. Charity Bank is the only bank to be certified as a social enterprise. Social Enterprise UK’s expectations of social enterprises are as follows:
- a clear social or environmental mission set out in its governing documents
- be an independent business and earn more than half of your income through trading
- controlled or owned in the interests of your social mission
- reinvest or give away at least half your profits or surpluses towards social purpose
- transparent about how you operate and the impact that you have
Global Alliance for Banking on Values
Charity Bank is a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values which is a not-for-profit organisation and independent network of banks and banking cooperatives. We share a mission to use finance to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Founded in 2009, the GABV comprises of 63 members and 16 supporting partners operating in countries across Asia, Africa, Australia, South and North America and Europe.
Social Enterprise Scotland Supporter
Charity Bank is an official supporter of Social Enterprise Scotland, a representative and membership-led organisation that has united and represented social enterprises in Scotland for more than 15 years. We share in Social Enterprise Scotland’s mission to support social enterprise growth and development and join their community of over 500 social enterprises and supporters.
About Charity Bank
Charity Bank is the loans and savings bank owned by and committed to supporting the social sector. Since 2002, we have used our savers’ money to make more than 1,100 loans totalling over £400m to housing, education, social care, community and other social purpose organisations.
Nothing in this article constitutes an invitation to engage in investment activity nor is it advice or a recommendation and professional advice should be taken before any course of action is pursued.