We use functional and anonymous analytical cookies to ensure that our website functions properly and to gain insight into its use. In addition, we place third-party cookies to show personalised advertisements and offer social media functions.
By selecting "Accept" you accept all cookies, including third-party cookies. By selecting "Reject" you only accept functional and anonymous analytical cookies. Select "Cookie settings" to customise your cookie preferences and read more about our privacy and cookie policy.
Since Triodos Bank opened in the UK in 1995, we’ve been leading the way in sustainable banking, enabling individuals and organisations to use their money in ways that benefit people and the planet.
As we mark our 30th anniversary this year, we can reveal that Triodos Bank UK has delivered a total of £2.5 billion in lending to projects generating transformative social and environmental impact across the country.
While our customers earn interest on their savings, we use the money deposited with us to finance projects that make a positive and lasting impact. So, it’s only thanks to the customers that choose to bank with us that we’re able to have reached this impressive total.
A brief history of Triodos Bank UK
In 1995, Triodos Bank, with its roots in the Netherlands, acquired the Sussex-based ethical bank Mercury Provident and relocated to offices in Bristol. This was the creation of Triodos Bank in the UK.
From a small team of just seven people, it has grown to be a significant retail bank - offering a highly-rated personal current account and mobile banking, impact investments, corporate finance advisory and specialist, relationship-based business banking services – and employing over 300 co-workers in Bristol, London and Scotland.
This year, Triodos Bank UK has been recognised with a King’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development, as well as being named Best Ethical Financial Provider at the British Bank Awards for the fourth consecutive year.
“I began banking with Triodos because of the equality and opportunity it offers”
Jude, a Triodos customer for more than two decades
“Over the past 30 years, Triodos has proven that where you bank matters. At a time when too many banks are scaling back on sustainability commitments, Triodos remains committed to using the power of finance for good,” says Mark Clayton, CEO of Triodos Bank UK. “Now more than ever, we urgently need finance to flow towards supporting resilient, healthy communities, and enabling our planet to thrive.”
Video
Banking with a mission: how Triodos Bank is doing things differently
Banking with a mission: how Triodos Bank is doing things differently
By playing this video you allow Youtube to track your visit More info
Banking with a mission: how Triodos Bank is doing things differently
Banking with a mission: how Triodos Bank is doing things differently
By playing this video you allow Youtube to track your visit More info
Banking with a mission: how Triodos Bank is doing things differently
So… what does £2.5 billion of funding look like?
As well as environmental change, Triodos’s lending has supported social impact and championed inclusion and equality in communities across the UK.
This has ranged from social housing, charities and healthcare providers such as Riverford, Neal’s Yard and Cafédirect, to backing community projects such as Gympanzees – the UK’s first accessible play centre for children with disabilities – and Sea Lanes Brighton, the UK’s first open water swimming training centre.
For 30 years, we’ve put £2.5 billion into financing innovative projects across transport, energy, nature, healthcare and much more.
Triodos Bank UK provided a £2.5m loan to Sea Lanes which has now enabled the UK's first outdoor training centre to open to the public.
Triodos and Unity Trust Bank provided over £16m in loans for The Whiteley Homes Trust to help fund the Eliza Palmer Care Hub, a nursing centre with a therapy suite and public café.
SPACE Studios, a charity managing over 330,000 sq ft across 20 sites, has now bought its Martello Street studios - leased since 1971 - with support from a Triodos Bank UK loan.
Gympanzees, a Bristol-based charity, secured a £2.2m Triodos loan to buy a former motorway service site and create the UK’s first permanent leisure centre for disabled children and young people. Credit: Jon Craig
Triodos Bank UK provided a landmark £20.55m loan to Oxygen Conservation to support the purchase of 23,000 acres in Scotland and expand its conservation work.
A £3m Triodos loan is helping Solar for Schools CBS expand affordable solar energy to 30 more UK schools, cutting costs and supporting sustainable education.
Established by Triodos in 1995, The Wind Fund plc - now Thrive Renewables - was created to enable direct investment in small-scale renewable energy projects like wind farms and hydro schemes.
Triodos Bank UK provided a £2.5m loan to Sea Lanes which has now enabled the UK's first outdoor training centre to open to the public.
Triodos and Unity Trust Bank provided over £16m in loans for The Whiteley Homes Trust to help fund the Eliza Palmer Care Hub, a nursing centre with a therapy suite and public café.
SPACE Studios, a charity managing over 330,000 sq ft across 20 sites, has now bought its Martello Street studios - leased since 1971 - with support from a Triodos Bank UK loan.
Gympanzees, a Bristol-based charity, secured a £2.2m Triodos loan to buy a former motorway service site and create the UK’s first permanent leisure centre for disabled children and young people. Credit: Jon Craig
Triodos Bank UK provided a landmark £20.55m loan to Oxygen Conservation to support the purchase of 23,000 acres in Scotland and expand its conservation work.
A £3m Triodos loan is helping Solar for Schools CBS expand affordable solar energy to 30 more UK schools, cutting costs and supporting sustainable education.
Established by Triodos in 1995, The Wind Fund plc - now Thrive Renewables - was created to enable direct investment in small-scale renewable energy projects like wind farms and hydro schemes.
Last year alone, Triodos Bank UK’s gross new lending was over £160 million. As of the end of 2024, Triodos Bank's lending portfolio backed:
Almost 100 clean energy projects, avoiding over 81 kilotonnes of CO2 emissions and generating 35 MW – equival to the annual electricity needs of 164,000 households
82 organic farms that together manage more than 28,000 acres of organic farmland, providing approximately 13 million organic meals
11 nature-based projects, sequestering approximately 12 kilotonnes of CO2
127 social housing projects, providing accommodation for approximately 15,500 people
65 care homes providing for over 2,600 individuals
49 projects in the cultural sector, from individual artists to large cultural institutions
Triodos Bank UK held a special celebratory event to bring together customers, partners and friends of the bank to look back at the last 30 years together.
Triodos customers help us bring bold ideas to life
Reflecting on what we have achieved over the last 30 years in the UK, we feel incredible proud to have worked with trailblazing businesses and organisations delivering impact where it is needed most.
At a time where it feels the world is scaling back on its sustainability commitments, Triodos continues to be a global pioneer in ethical banking and using the power of finance to support projects that benefit people and the planet.
We look forward to growing this impact even further, alongside our community, in the years to come.
Stories of transformative impact
Want to go beyond the numbers? We’ve put together a magazine that highlights the stories of transformative impact we’ve been involved with since our origin in 1995.
You’ll read how we have pioneered the use of finance to drive forwar environmental change over the last 30 years, from financing Ecotricity to build its first wind turbine in 1996, to delivering a landmark £20.55m loan – the UK’s largest conservation-focused commercial debt package to date – to Oxygen Conservation in 2023.
Thanks for joining the conversation.
We've sent you an email - click on the link to publish your post.