What we believe
We believe in building a greener society through:
Sustainable mortgages
We believe in the concept of sustainability throughout the 'footprint' of a mortgage, from the way it's funded to the ultimate impact it makes on the environment.
Our mortgages support and promote building practices that respect the environment and sustainable, low impact communities. They are funded by our savers – not by the wholesale money markets – and they aim to incentivise lower carbon lifestyles through our series of mortgage discounts.
Ethical savings
We believe that ethical savings aren't just about avoiding negative impacts of your investment.
We only use our members' savings to support our mortgage lending on properties and projects that respect the environment. We believe in transparency about how we use your money and honesty about the way we manage our funds.
Ethical saving is also about treating all of our saving members fairly, regardless of the size of your investment or how long you've saved with us. It's about making sure that we operate our business in a way that matches our values.
Affordable housing
We believe in supporting local economies and communities by enabling the construction of affordable homes, including shared ownership and housing association projects, particularly in rural areas.
We believe that co-operative housing projects offer a low impact, community-focussed approach to sustainable living, and we actively support these initiatives.
We also believe that widespread energy saving property improvements are vital for reducing fuel poverty, as well as the carbon emissions produced by our housing stock.
Mutual values
Our mutual structure enables us to put our mission at the core of our work – rather than the need to generate profits for shareholders.
We believe that the participation of our members is vital in steering our direction and building a community of people working towards a more sustainable future. We're committed to reflecting the principles of equality and mutuality in all of our business operations.