Q&A with Best Buy Ecology Building Society

EC: Tell us a bit about Ecology Building Society

Ecology: We were founded in 1981 by people who wanted to build a greener society, challenge the norm, and agitate for positive change in our industry, principles which still govern our decision making to this day.

Following the traditional building society model, deposits from our savers fund mortgages for our borrowers, with our lending dedicated to efforts to create new green homes, convert and improve existing buildings, and bring disused and derelict properties back into sustainable use.

In addition to impact-led residential lending to home buyers and owners, we also specialise in supporting small-scale green developers, sustainable businesses, community groups and community-led housing schemes.

Our savings products are designed to be simple, transparent and sustainable, and offer our members fair returns on the money they invest with us.

Why do you think Ecology received our Best Buy label for a number of your products? What separates you from other ethical banks and building societies?

Firstly thank you for recognising that Ecology’s mortgages support ecological homes and community projects, and we have a tool on our website to show how and where we’re using our savers’ money.

As a building society, we need to balance the needs of our savers and borrowers and aim to offer fair value to both groups of members.

We’re proud that since rates started to rise from their historic lows we’ve passed on more increases to our savers while moderating the impact of rises for our borrowers. Through our C-Change discount, we can reward our borrowers for creating a more energy-efficient home with a reduction in their variable mortgage rate.

We continue to seek and listen to our members’ feedback about the kind of products they need and how they can open and operate their accounts with us.

Do you see a growing demand for ethical banking services?

Independent research we commissioned found the majority of consumers (74%) wanted their money to have a positive environmental and social impact (although there was confusion about how their own bank or building society used their money).

This aligned with a survey by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which identified growing consumer demand for sustainable products and services. Of those surveyed, three-quarters agreed environmental issues are really important to them.

We welcome the fact the FCA and other regulators, including the Advertising Standards Authority and the Competition and Markets Authority, are becoming more active in investigating and challenging greenwashing claims made by a range of businesses.

The FCA recently brought in new anti-greenwashing guidelines, which we hope will be the starting point for greater clarity and simplicity around products and services badged as “green”.

Anecdotally, new members have told us they are opening savings accounts with us because of our principles of sustainability and transparency, and our mission to build a greener society.

Have you ever had to make a business decision that challenged your ethical standpoint?

We have to weigh up lots of different factors when we’re making business decisions – perfection’s not possible, so it’s all about striking a balance.

For example, we’re invited to events nationally and internationally, some of which we’d need to fly to. If attending a major overseas conference in person meant we could wield our influence and deliver real change, we’d need to decide whether we should make that journey.

Similarly, we’re currently in the midst of the biggest period of change in Ecology’s history and our workforce has grown as we’ve invested in the expertise and experience we need. Our industry is highly regulated and the best candidates to fill senior and specialist roles may not be local. While we offer hybrid working, we know colleagues living far from our head office will increase our carbon footprint, so we have to find ways to reduce the footprint this creates.

Where would you like to see Ecology Building Society in the next 5 years?

Our mission remains the same but this year we’ve restated our Purpose – in a world that doesn’t add up, daring to be different is our calling, lending our power so everyone’s story gets a chance to thrive.

In the next few years, I’m excited to explore with our colleagues and existing and new members just how we bring this to life. We want to show how we do things differently from the rest of our industry and drive positive social and environmental change while we operate as a secure, sustainable business.

In part, that will be down to our significant ongoing investment in a new technology platform. This will make us so slick and simple to deal with, more ethical savers will very soon be asking themselves why they’re not already an Ecology member.