Student Finance Overview
If you buy Fairtrade goods, believe in human rights, or are concerned about climate change -
- put your money where your mouth is and open an ethical bank account too.
Financial institutions make all sorts of offers to get students through their doors, from discounts to vouchers to bags of freebies. But these short-term gestures can mask long-term issues.
How would you feel if your money was being used to prop up oppressive regimes, test cosmetics on animals or damage the environment?
What are the issues?
Before you open a new student bank account, or if you want to find out about your current bank’s green and ethical credentials, you should consider the following:
Lending
Banks don't just lend money to current account-holding customers, they also lend to large corporations, public institutions and even governments. Would you approve if your bank was lending money to a company with a poor track record on human rights or one manufacturing arms for use in war zones?
Climate Change and Environment
Financial institutions have an impact in these areas, not just in terms of who they lend to or invest in, but how they run their own operations. It is important to find out what your bank or insurance provider is doing to improve its environmental performance as a business: have they pledged to go carbon neutral for example? Or do they offer any green products to their customers?
Equal Opportunities
A lot of people believe that equal opportunity in the work place is now the norm, but there is still a massive pay gap between men and women doing the same jobs across most industries, including finance. Also the number of women in high level positions is still significantly lower. Not only that but some companies’ equal opportunities policies don’t take other key issues like sexuality and disability into consideration.
Financial Exclusion
There are an estimated two million adults in the UK without even the most basic bank account. Is your bank doing anything to address this situation?
For more details see our Financial Exclusion section.
Responsible Credit
Does your bank, credit card provider or insurance company take care to appropriately target and market its products? Does it offer assistance to customers in financial difficulty? Some credit card providers may not treat their customers responsibly – issuing cards to people who’ll struggle to make their repayments and not offering help to those who do fall behind.
What are the ethical options?
There are a few banks, building societies and insurance companies with well-recognised green and ethical credentials. The examples listed below for banking and saving also scored the highest marks on ethical lending in our research:
Banking
- The Co-operative Bank: this institution provides student banking, insurance and credit cards facilities and has an ethical lending policy that extends across all its business operations.
- Smile: this internet arm of the Co-operative Bank and also offers student accounts.
Saving
- Triodos: this bank offers green and ethical savings accounts. Its commercial lending is primary to green businesses.
- Ecology: this mutual building society offers a range of green savings accounts and mortgage options and its commercial lending is mainly to small, green businesses.
Insurance
- Co-operative Insurance
Insurance type: home, motor, life and health
This company offers a wide range of insurance products and has an extensive ethical engagement policy governing who it will provide cover to. - Climate Sure
Insurance type: travel
Climate Sure calculates the CO2 produced by flying overseas and pays for it to be 'offset' by funding sustainable energy projects. - Green Insurance Company
Insurance type: motor
This provider aims to offset your car's carbon emissions and offers discounts on greener cars/lower mileage. - Naturesave
Insurance types: home, travel, personal accident and illness insurance
This company puts 10% of its personal insurance premiums in a fund (Naturesave Trust) to benefit environmental and conservation projects. It also offers a free environmental performance review for commercial clients and aims to use suppliers that support sustainable business practices.
Credit Cards
Before signing up to a card you should check out the ethical credentials of its provider. Visit our credit card section for more information.
Your next steps
See our Next Steps Guide - Student Finance for information on finding the best green and ethical service provider for you, how to switch accounts and how contact your bank or insurance company about their policies.
Student Finance Search
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Sainsbury’s Bank
Green/Ethical Products
No evidence of specifically green or ethical products found.
Ethical Lending or Insurance
Not applicable. Sainsbury’s Bank does not offer commercial lending or insurance services.
Human Rights
Not applicable. Sainsbury’s Bank does not offer commercial lending or insurance services.
Financial Exclusion
No evidence of any accounts, products or services aimed specifically at the financially excluded.
No evidence found that Sainsbury’s bank provides direct financial support to or engages in partnerships with Credit Unions and CDFIs (Community Development Finance Institutions).
No evidence found of Sainsbury’s Bank’s involvement in any microfinance (or microinsurance) projects.
No evidence found that Sainsbury’s Bank invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.
Environment
Sainsbury’s Bank’s environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change and waste management.
J Sainsbury Plc, which jointly owns Sainsbury’s Bank with Lloyds Banking Group, has an environmental policy that covers the key areas of water use, waste management and climate change (through reference to carbon emissions). However, the policy information found relates to retail business and related transport/deliveries and not full company operations. As Sainsbury's Bank plc is jointly owned, it is unclear if this applies to Sainsbury's Bank.
The above policy also covers sustainable and innovative packaging and supplier carbon emissions reduction, in addition to operational carbon emissions reduction.
According to its website, Sainsbury's Bank shares the same ethical values as its parent company J Sainsbury's plc.
The bank has introduced the following initiatives and incentives to reduce its carbon footprint:
- Recycling plastic and raw materials in the offices and ordering stationary on demand
- Reducing travel
Carbon Neutral
No commitment to become fully carbon neutral was found.
Sainsbury's (retail) does state that it aims by 2020, to have reduced its operational carbon emissions by 30 per cent absolute and 65 per cent relative, compared with 2005 (part of its broader target of an absolute carbon reduction of 50 per cent by 2030).
However, as Sainsbury's Bank plc is jointly owned by J Sainsbury's and Lloyds Banking Group, it is unclear if this applies to Sainsbury's Bank.
Equal Opportunities
J Sainsbury Plc has a diversity policy that takes into consideration the key equality issues of race, gender, sexuality and disability, amongst a wide range of other issues.
Women on the Board
2/8 women hold top level board positions (25%)
Student Insurance
Student Contents Insurance
Voluntary Standards & Initiatives
Sainsbury's Bank plc is not a signatory to, or member of, relevant charters or initiatives.
J Sainsbury is a signatory to Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity initatives from Business in the Community.
Sainsbury's is also a signatory to the Employers' Network on Equality and Inclusion and the Employer's Forum on Disability Members. However, as Sainsbury's Bank is a joint venture of Sainsbury's and another company, it is unclear if this applies.
Charitable Giving
Sainsbury's Bank selected Maggie's Cancer Care Centres as its 2012 charity partner of the year. Sainsbury’s Bank involves all colleagues in fundraising efforts. In total, the bank was able to raise £27,000 through various fundraising efforts.
Sainsbury’s Bank has a ‘Day to make a difference’ initiative, requiring bank employees o volunteer one day a year. The bank is able to contribute 1800 hours of service through this initiative.
Sainsbury’s Bank
- Credit Cards
- Loans
- Savings
- Insurance (Motor, Home, Pet, Life, Travel, Over 50s Life, Critical Illness)
- Mortgages
- Students Contents Insurance
