Too many large banks pay lip service to social and environmental causes, but continue to use their depositors’ money to fund injustice and greenhouse gases—whether it be mass incarceration, payday lenders, or fossil fuels. In fact, fossil-fuel financing is on the rise. According to the Rainforest Action Network, “In the five years since the Paris Agreement, the world’s 60 biggest banks have financed fossil fuels to the tune of $3.8 trillion.” This, despite increasing evidence that fossil fuel processing produces huge levels of carbon emissions; pollutes the air, water, and soil; and can lead to serious health impacts.

In other words, your hard-earned money may be bringing real harm to your community. If you’re tired of funding a broken financial system, there’s something you can do about it. Values-based banks—of which there are many—prove that a bank can generate positive social and environmental impact while remaining financially sustainable.

That’s why we choose to fund only clean, renewable energy and refuse to fund extractive and dirty energy sources like coal, oil, gas, and other activities that contribute to climate change.

-WCCO