Atom bank plants roots for climate positivity

An innovative initiative aims to offset carbon emissions and set new sustainability standards in banking.

Durham-headquartered Atom Bank, the UK’s first app-based bank, has purchased 25 acres of Northumberland woodland to offset all its operational emissions since it was founded in 2014, with bosses promising “to do more” and “the right thing” to “demonstrate real leadership for the sector”.

The newly planted broadleaf trees are expected to sequester 7,000 tonnes of CO2 over their lifetime, aligning with Atom’s pledge to become a climate-positive bank by 2035, a first for UK banking.

The woodland, located on a former open-cast coal mine, includes sycamore, birch and willow trees, representing Atom’s direct ownership approach to carbon credits. This model allows for greater control and efficiency in meeting climate goals, offering a blueprint for sustainable banking.

Mark Mullen, chief executive of Atom bank, said: “We’ve made this significant investment in an area local to Atom because we recognise the responsibility we have to our planet.

“We could have invested this money in employing more people or launching new products - as to be fair we usually do - but this time we chose trees.

“In time these trees should store more CO2 than our company has been responsible for emitting in all the years since we were founded.

“We know our customers usually choose Atom because we offer excellent value for money and first-class customer service. But we also want our customers to know their bank is trying to do the right thing.

“This is an important step as we target becoming climate positive by 2035, which means we will take more carbon out of the atmosphere through our lending and investment choices than we are responsible for emitting.

“We could have gotten away with promising less, but companies really must do more.”

Atom plans to expand this strategy by funding or purchasing 100 hectares of additional natural capital projects this year. Alongside offsetting emissions, the bank is exploring biodiversity net gain initiatives to support housing development while preserving natural habitats.

A member of Bankers for Net Zero, Atom tracks its environmental impact through annual carbon reporting, demonstrating its commitment to a greener financial future. Covering the last financial year, Atom’s total carbon impact was 658.44 tCO2e, a reduction of 2.2 per cent from the year before during a period when the bank increased operating profit by 600 per cent on the previous year.

Edward Twiddy, director of ESG at Atom bank, said: “Atom is a business designed for the future, changing banking for the better.

“We want to and can do more to actively reduce and then reverse our impact on the environment, especially as we grow as a business.

“This is a challenge, but we believe that the efficiency of our operating model combined with a drive to innovate in everything that we do means that we can demonstrate real leadership for the sector.

“As a lender, we’re responsible not only for the carbon coming from our day-to-day operations and travel but also for a proportion of the emissions from the homes and businesses that we finance.

“Directly owning this woodland and putting our balance sheet to work in a different way is one example of how the power of the banking model, combined with a value set that prioritises doing the right thing, can be turned in favour of both the planet and a profitable future for Atom.”

To find out more about the initiative, you can watch this video featuring Edward and Robbie Steel, head of PR and communications at Atom bank.

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