Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Divestments from fossil fuels and support for sustainability
- The consumer
- Ethical current accounts are still niche propositions
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- Figure 1: Current account providers, November 2018
- Consumers focus on personal, rather than corporate activities
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- Figure 2: Green, ethical and socially responsible activities, November 2018
- Half say that investment firms are not socially responsible
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- Figure 3: Ranking of how socially responsible different sectors are, November 2018
- Focus on price means ethics are always a secondary consideration
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- Figure 4: Important factors affecting choice of financial services provider, November 2018
- Consumers want their money to have a positive social impact
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- Figure 5: Attitudes towards green, ethical and socially responsible finance, November 2018
- Consumers are split in their reasons for not using ethical brands
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- Figure 6: Barriers to using a socially responsible financial services provider, November 2018
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Consumers need to be educated about social responsibility
- The facts
- The implications
- Consideration of social issues can boost providers’ reputations
- The facts
- The implications
- Ethical brands need to highlight the real cost of banking
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Divestments from fossil fuels and support for sustainability
- Growth in ethical investments and green lending
Green, Ethical and Socially Responsible Issues in Financial Services
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- Divestment and funding
- Investments
- Funding
- Growth of ethical investing
- Green lending
- Ethical banking and lending
- Regulatory activity
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Ethical current accounts are still niche propositions
- Consumers focus on personal, rather than corporate activities
- Half say that investment firms are not socially responsible
- Focus on price means ethics are always a secondary consideration
- Consumers want their money to have a positive social impact
- Consumers are split in their reasons for not using ethical brands
Current Account Providers
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- Ethical current accounts are still niche propositions
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- Figure 7: Current account providers, November 2018
- Building societies pose the biggest challenge to ethical banks
Green, Ethical and Socially Responsible Activities
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- Company ethics remain minority considerations
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- Figure 8: Green, ethical and socially responsible activities, November 2018
- Under-35s lag behind older consumers
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- Figure 9: Selected green, ethical and socially responsible activities, by age, November 2018
- A payments revolution in charitable giving is yet to come
- Most people limit ethical activities to three things
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- Figure 10: Number of green, ethical and socially responsible activities carried out, excluding “Own an electric/hybrid car”, November 2018
- Figure 11: Green, ethical and socially responsible activities, by number of green, ethical and socially responsible activities carried out, excluding “Own an electric/hybrid car”, November 2018
Social Responsibility in Context
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- Financial services providers’ reputations leave room for improvement
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- Figure 12: Ranking of how socially responsible different sectors are, November 2018
- Building societies retain a favourable reputation, for now
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- Figure 13: Agreement that banks and building societies are “Very” or “Somewhat” socially responsible, by age, November 2018
- Investing has a long way to go
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- Figure 14: Agreement that investment firms are socially responsible or not socially responsible, by value of savings and investments, November 2018
Factors Affecting Choice of Financial Services Provider
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- Practical considerations are the most influential factors
- A quarter consider staff treatment when choosing a finance provider
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- Figure 15: Important factors affecting choice of financial services provider, November 2018
- Environmental stances and ownership structures are key to standing out
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- Figure 16: Choice of green, ethical and socially responsible factors as important when choosing a financial provider, by users of ethical and non-ethical current account providers, November 2018
Attitudes towards Green, Ethical and Socially Responsible Finance
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- People tend to want to make investments with positive impacts…
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- Figure 17: Attitudes towards green, ethical and socially responsible finance, November 2018
- …but don’t think they have funds to do so
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- Figure 18: Response to the statement “I have enough money to invest in socially responsible organisations”, by value of savings and investments, November 2018
- Under-35s claim greater knowledge of ethical current accounts
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- Figure 19: Response to the statement “I understand how using a socially responsible current account provider can have a social impact”, by age, November 2018
- Comfortable consumers have more faith in brands to act responsibly
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- Figure 20: Agreement with selected attitudes towards green, ethical and socially responsible finance, by current financial situation, November 2018
Barriers to Using a Socially Responsible Provider
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- Consumers are split in their reasons for not using ethical brands
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- Figure 21: Barriers to using a socially responsible financial services provider, November 2018
- Men are less engaged than women
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- Figure 22: Barriers to using a socially responsible financial services provider, by gender, November 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
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