Financing positive change

UK public think funding positive social and environmental change is needed ‘now more than ever’

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Published: March 23, 2025
This Article was written by: Katie Hill - My Green Pod
banking, climate action, investments, money

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Against a backdrop of devastating global conflicts, extreme politics and the ongoing climate crisis, new research from Triodos Bank UK reveals the UK public is fearful of the future and anxious to support a better world – yet overlooking the potential of using personal finances to bring about positive change.

Polling of 2,000 UK adults reveals that 81% of people are concerned about the future of the world, while seven in 10 (68%) think we need positive social and environmental change now more than ever.

Specifically, two-thirds of people (65%) are concerned about what President Trump’s second term will mean for action on climate change and for progress on social inclusion and equality (63%).

This concern is universal across all age groups, but older generations are especially concerned about the direction of global politics. 83% of people over the age of 55 are troubled by global politics shifting to greater and greater extremes.

How to take action

When it comes to finding solutions to these global challenges, 57% think that financing positive social and environmental change is more important now than it has ever been. This rises to 64% of the younger Gen Z and Millennial generations.

However, confusion and feeling overwhelmed about how to do this are preventing many from taking action: half of UK adults (49%) – rising to two-thirds (67%) of 18- to 34-year-olds – say they want to help have a positive impact but don’t know where to start.

‘In the face of distressing news headlines, it’s no wonder that so many of us feel overwhelmed about how to have a positive influence on the world. But every individual person matters. Each one of us can take a surprisingly impactful step to contribute to a fairer, sustainable world, simply by switching bank or savings accounts. Every penny and pound in sustainable savings or investments is helping to collectively finance advances in renewable energy, community-led initiatives and businesses that promote fair and equitable treatment of everyone.

‘Since the Paris Agreement was signed, the world’s 60 largest banks have poured over $6.9 trillion of money into the fossil fuel industry in the form of loans and underwriting. It’s time to arrest this trend, and customers have the power in their wallets. As a sustainable bank, Triodos offers an alternative – with a proven track record of funding sustainable projects and endorsing bold global initiatives, such as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.’

ROGER HATTAM
Director of Retail Banking at Triodos Bank UK

Young people respond

The younger generations are especially motivated to act on these concerns and try and contribute to social and environmental progress. The majority of 18-34 year olds (55%) want to take action into their own hands to bring this about, and to use their money to help fund positive change (51%).

This age group is especially dismayed by the global backlash against commitments on sustainability and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI), with the majority (53%) wanting to help fill this gap in funding initiatives that build a greener, fairer world.

When it comes to the actions of big corporations and banks, over half (55%) of 18-34 year olds are likely to support businesses that demonstrate progress on sustainability, and the fair and equal treatment of people, over businesses that don’t.

Meanwhile, four in 10 say they are prepared to move their money out of their current bank if it scraps its current sustainability commitments (42%) or DEI initiatives (40%) – as many US-based big banks have done since Trump’s second term began.

Aligning money with values

Ahead of the April tax year refresh, many consumers will be choosing new Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), with new rule changes meaning that savers and investors can now hold money in more than one ISA of the same type, across multiple providers.

These changes unlock greater flexibility in how consumers can use their money in line with their values.

Savers and investors can now earmark a proportion of their money to work especially towards positive environmental and social change, by transferring this into a sustainable savings or investment ISA.

Consumers are keen to take advantage of this flexibility: 63% of ISA holders would be willing to move some of their holdings from their current ISA provider to an ethical or sustainable bank in order to have a positive social or environmental impact.

On average, these ISA holders indicated they would be prepared to move 30% of their holdings to a sustainable provider; which, when extrapolated across all UK ISA holdings, means this flexibility could unlock up to £21bn of sustainable savings and investments.

‘In our 2025 review of financial choices for UK consumers, due out in April, we have found a trend amongst larger banks towards backtracking on climate commitments. This was on top of a failure to keep to commitments already made. Happily, in survey of readers who had switched banks for ethical reasons, nine out of 10 found it ‘very simple with little admin and I would happily do it again’.’

ROB HARRISON
Director at Ethical Consumer

Triodos Bank UK is a certified B Corporation and has been operating with a focus on sustainable finance for over 40 years and has been recognised as ‘stand-out Best Buy’ for banking by Ethical Consumer magazine for its personal current accounts, savings accounts and investment funds.