Co-operative Bank

[Guest guest]

Hi all, Spacevegan was tellin' me about the Co-op bank, apparently they only

invest in ethical industries so that's a good way to prevent your savings

sponsoring HLS & other undesirables.

 

300 copies of 'Why vegan' turned up today, anybody have any ideas on the best

way of using these for maximum effect?

 

Ash

 

(get on the hippie bandwagon, see http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/)

 

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[Guest guest]

vegan-network, " Ashley Hooper " <ash_hooper> wrote:

> Hi all, Spacevegan was tellin' me about the Co-op bank, apparently

they only invest in ethical industries so that's a good way to

prevent your savings sponsoring HLS & other undesirables.

 

The Co-Op are not perfect but they're the best you're gonna get if

you want convenience (cashpoints, not charged for cheques etc i.e

normal high-street bank services) and they definitely take their

ethical policy seriously. Customers get a chance to decide that

policy to a certain extent - we're currently being asked how the bank

should treat GM food (you can imagine my view!). I think Triodos

are " more ethical " , but you won't get a cashpoint card, you have to

pay after a certain number of cheques etc. A bit like a bank from the

60's! I'm thinking of moving my company's business account to Triodos

though, where this sort of thing is normal and I can operate fine by

post. For personal banking, Triodos is better for saving, and you can

join their targeted schemes for organic investment etc. Also the

Ecology Building Society is great for saving, or borrowing money to

rescue a derelict property.

 

Here are their links:

www.co-operativebank.co.uk

www.triodos.co.uk

www.ecology.co.uk

 

And here's some extracts from the Co-Op's ethical policy (Points to

note: they *will* invest in companies who make weapons so long as

they are not sold to oppressive regimes and they *will* invest in

companies that vivisect for medical purposes).

 

 

Human Rights:

We will not invest in or provide financial services to :

any regime or organisation which oppresses the human spirit or

takes away the rights of the individual

manufacturers of torture equipment or other equipment that is used

in the violation of human rights

 

Arms Trade:

We will not invest in or provide financial services to any business

involved in the:

manufacture

sale

licensed production

brokerage

of armaments to any country which has an oppressive regime.

 

Trade and Social Involvement:

Too long to include!

 

Ecological Impact:

We will encourage business customers to take a pro-active stance on

the environmental impact of their own activities and will invest in

companies that avoid repeated damage to the environment.

In line with the principles of our Ecological Mission Statement we

will not invest in any business or organisation that, as a core

activity, relies on:

- the extraction or production of fossil fuels, which contribute to

problems such as global climate change and acid rain

- the manufacture of unnatural chemicals which may contribute to

problems such as ozone depletion, or which may accumulate in nature

- the unsustainable harvest of natural resources such as timber

clearance, which leads to deforestation

 

Animal Welfare:

We will not invest in, or provide financial services to:

organisations involved in the following activities: animal testing

of cosmetic or household products or their ingredients

exploitative factory farming methods

blood sports, which involve the use of animals or birds to catch,

fight or kill each other

fur farming and the trade in animal fur.

 

(sorry for the long post - I'm doing a fraggle!