Triodos Bank Explores 'Ethical Consumption'
by Sami Grover, Carrboro, NC, USA on 04.28.07
We’ve discussed Triodos Bank before. For those of you who have not heard of them, Triodos is a European savings bank with offices in the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium that invests only in projects with a positive environmental or social impact. 33% of their investments go to renewable energy, 10% to organic farming, 11.7% to urban regeneration, 9.1% to natural healthcare. You get the idea – they take your money and put it to good use.
It doesn’t end there, however, as they also provide some fascinating educational experiences for their customers in the form of their annual general meetings. In addition to getting an opportunity to hear about the bank’s development and growth, customers are treated to an organic lunch, get to meet some of the businesses and non-profits that Triodos finances, and to hear leading environmental speakers discuss the hot topics of the day. This year’s meeting will address the topic of ‘ethical consumption’:
“From high-end fair trade fashion to top quality organic produce, we’re increasingly sold the idea that we can buy our way to a better world. But is it really that easy? And, what’s worse, is all this ethical shopping distracting us from the collective action that’s needed to solve to the planet’s chronic problems?”
The event will take place on 9th June at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum, Temple Meads Station, Bristol. Speakers will include New Economics Foundation Policy Director, Andrew Simms and Triodos Bank Investment Manager, Whitni Thomas, and tickets are free, but limited. Fulle details can be found here.
