Words by Rachel Briant
There are certain UK banks that invest only in that which is good, green and clean – namely Triodos (http://www.triodos.co.uk) and the Co-operative (http://www.goodwithmoney.co.uk) – but it is not immediately clear which local banks follow suit. Nedbank advertises itself as a ‘green bank’ but do they really put their money where their mouth is?
According to headlines Nedbank became Africa’s first carbon neutral bank in 2010 and due to ‘behavioural change, reduction targets and operational efficiencies’ they continue to uphold a reputation of high standard today.
Although having faced criticism at Durban’s COP17 last year for their involvement in Eskom’s coal activities, Nedbank surely have their side to the story. Nelis Engelbrecht – head of Nedbank’s Carbon Offsetting – tells us more about what he does:
“There are thousands of little villages in Africa that are collecting firewood every day to cook with. Our main focus is helping to sustain those locals so that they don’t have to kill off the forest or its wild animals,” explains Nelis.
Travelling to places like Uganda, Kenya and Ghana over the last four years, Nelis and Nedbank have worked with communities to prevent further deforestation. By equipping locals with more energy-efficient stoves, ‘Wonderbags’ – heat-retention cooking bags – and charcoal, the focus is on removing the cause of natural habitat destruction.
There is much emphasis on education, ensuring that the people understand why it is important to preserve the natural resources. Working with many different NGO’s and organisations, all carbon projects are chosen carefully based on their potential for sustainability and long-lasting benefit to those African communities that are affected.
‘The nice part of the job is seeing the changes that have happened,’ says Nelis, who travels regularly to these countries to meet with various tribal Chiefs.
Whether you think their efforts are purely green-washing or if you think there is some genuine effort going on here, be sure to check out the work Nedbank is up to before you judge.
Having opened a wind-powered branch last year in Du Noon, launched South Africa’s first Green Index, sponsored solar-powered traffic lights in Johannesburg and now working against deforestation in Africa, it seems as if Nedbank really are making an effort to ‘do the right thing’.
If you are interested in opening a Green Affinity account with Nedbank – that claims to directly fund a broad range of community-based conservation projects together with the WWF – click here.
