Guest blog: Friends of the Earth supports Move Your Money Month!
David Powell explains why Friends of the Earth supports Move Your Money month.
What a cracking initiative Move your Money month is. I’m really pleased to say Friends of the Earth are on board as supporters — and here’s why.
We’ve spent four decades campaigning against environmental destruction and injustice. Much of this is down to the billions of pounds channelled by the likes of RBS and Barclays into projects like oil pipelines, toxic tar sands, and greedy loans for dirty coal and gas. Without big, bad cash, you couldn’t have big, bad projects.
As Tim Hunt from Ethical Consumer says:
“Barclays, RBS and HSBC have also recently been singled out by the Ecologist for involvement in some of the world’s most environmentally damaging projects, including mega coal fire power stations and open-pit gold mining. Barclays, RBS, and HSBC all make it into the list of top 20 ‘Climate Killer’ banks for their involvement in funding the coal industry in particular.”
I needed a Move your Money month when I was younger. It took me far too long to twig that shifting my bank account was one of the most powerful and positive things I could do.
I was 14 when I set up my first account. Off I toddled, all grown up, to my local bank; signed lots of forms; and deposited something weighty like two quid. I gave less than a second’s thought to the bank I chose. It was one of your usual high street lot — the closest one to my house, which was the deciding factor if I’m honest.
Ten years passed. All that time, the bank took the money I deposited (or, to be honest, the money I paid them on interest on my overdraft), and invested it in whatever they chose. I was none the wiser. It never really crossed my mind that my meagre stash could be used to support corrupt dictators or environmental abuse. The penny finally dropped when I received a thorough talking to from an ethical pensions chap of my acquaintance.
Cue fervent switching. Setting up a new account in a smaller and fundamentally nicer bank took me half an hour, maximum — plus I got to have the splendid satisfaction of telling my old bank, when they asked, exactly why it was I didn’t want to give them my salary any more.
Friends of the Earth works closely with banks like Triodos and the Co-operative. We support their commitment to ethical investment when it comes to social, environmental and human rights, and make no apologies for encouraging people to switch to them. I’m not sure there’s a lot of point ‘doing your bit’ in things like recycling and green lightbulbs if you entrust your dosh to a bank to do unspeakable things with.
So hooray for Move your Money month. Here’s hoping that bucketloads of people will heed the call and take half an hour or so to switch off their old, dirty bank account and do something more ethical instead.
After all: it’s your money.
Originally published in March 2012 at moveyourmoney.org.uk
