Green mortgages
Environmental responsibility
The Co-operative Bank funds several Climate Care projects across the world on behalf of its mortgage customers. These donations (over £330,000 in 2008) make a significant reduction in carbon dioxide and so help offset the emissions of our mortgage customers’ homes by an average of a fifth.
Why do we do this?
Global climate change is arguably the greatest threat facing the world today - and carbon dioxide is the principal contributor to this problem. Homes produce almost a quarter of the UK’s total output of carbon dioxide. Last year, however, the projects supported by the Bank’s customers helped to offset over 50,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. Since 2000, we have offset 269,000 tonnes of CO2 – that’s enough to fill Wembley stadium 127 times!
How is the money being spent?
Kibale National Park
Much of the Kibale National Park in Uganda was cut down in the 1960s and 1970s but, with our customers’ help, Climate Care is contributing to a project to replant the area with native trees and recreate a forest ecosystem. The reforestation of Kibale was the first Climate Care project that our customers supported in 2000. Over the last four years we have contributed to replanting over 190 hectares of forest (this equates to over 240 football pitches).
The areas which were replanted five years ago now have a closed canopy with trees of differing ages and species. Many have germinated from seeds brought in to the area by animals and birds. Whilst the area replanted on our behalf is too young to have attracted primates, chimpanzees and baboons have started to migrate into adjacent reforested areas. As the area matures, it will become a home to a number of these endangered primates.
Meanwhile, work continues in the nursery where thousands of saplings are ready to be planted out in the wet season. These are grown from seeds and newly germinated plants that are collected in the wild by specially trained workers. They are tended for six months in the nursery before being planted out.
A second nursery has been developed in the village of Busingye on the edge of the park. Families are provided with small seedlings to tend and are paid once the saplings are ready to plant out.
Cambodian cooking stoves
The majority of people in Cambodia depend on charcoal and wood for cooking, most commonly using a ‘Lao’ stove. However, the harvesting of wood for charcoal production is responsible for significant damage to Cambodia’s forests. The Co-operative Group is supporting a project to replace the traditional Lao stove with a more efficient version, leading to a 20% cut in the demand for charcoal and saving around half-a-tonne of carbon dioxide per stove per year. In addition, the reduced use of charcoal improves indoor air quality for stove users. This project is about more than just creating stoves; it aims to transform the cooking market in Cambodia, so includes training the people involved in manufacturing and retailing the stoves.
Treadle Pumps in India
This project funds the provision of manual pumps to Indian farmers. These are used to irrigate fields outside of the monsoon season. They provide a more sustainable and affordable alternative to expensive diesel-powered pumps, and can be used all year round, increasing productivity and bringing much needed additional income to families.
See more ways in which your money has helped (view the Climate Care Update)
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