Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 3:32:08 GMT
The deposits you make periodically with your bank for your personal and business accounts sustain the bank's ability to make loans and investments. Loans and investments drive growth, but what about green banks?
According to GreenBiz , a bank's capital can flow into fossil fuels or renewable energy, into lending to local businesses, or into financing environmentally damaging projects. So... Why don't users switch to ecological or more responsible banks?
Why don't users switch to ecological or more responsible banks?: Study
Imagine if all retail banks required environmental impact assessments for loan applications. Or they committed a certain percentage of loans and investments to renewable energy projects.
ecological banks
This is certainly a vision that all Ecuador Mobile Number List climate-conscious citizens can support, and the opportunity to influence banking as citizens is great. The majority of American households (93%) have a checking or savings account, while only 52% own stocks.
So why don't more people choose climate-friendly retail banks that have clear environmental lending and investment policies? Last February, empirical research was carried out to discover the reasons why people do not switch to green banks.
The group of participants was reduced to people who self-identify as "climate activists" or "ecologists." The study was designed to conduct a series of face-to-face focus groups in Europe and the United States.
Two focus groups were completed in Europe before the project was discontinued due to COVID-19. Although further research is needed, some conclusions can be drawn from this small data set. Here are the provisional results for the first time.
Results
In both groups' initial discussion, most said they had not made clear decisions about where to bank.
One participant in her early 20s, an ardent Swiss climate change activist, said her parents had opened her bank account and she had never questioned it. Others stated that they had chosen the least bad option for the service and did not think about the choice again.
ecological banks
The most common responses from both focus groups concerned a lack of information about good alternatives and how to find more information about their current banks' investment policies.
Many participants reported feeling overwhelmed at the thought of trying to find this information and make the change.
Most only change bank accounts during a time of transition, such as starting college, moving to a new city, starting a new job, or getting married, and then stay there unless a disruptive event occurs.
People simply start with the most convenient bank and stay. The average age of opening a checking account in the United States is 16 years old.
As the conversations developed, emotional reasons emerged as drivers of change.
Two of the youngest participants ( ages 20 to 25) expressed frustration at feeling like they have no power as young customers of a large bank. One said bluntly:
Who am I to ask them about the bank's investment policies? The bank director has all the power. My account is tiny.
Respondent.
ecological banks
Older respondents (around 50 years old) expressed a different emotional factor: cynicism. In the first focus group, the conversation moved to how they could actually believe anything a bank said, including the well-known green banks.
The responses fell into three categories that correspond to Chip and Dan Heath's Switch framework . This frame applies the image of a rider on an elephant trying to direct it down a path.
The elephant, which symbolizes our emotional body, must want to go.
The rider, who symbolizes our mind, must also want to go.
Our mind is lazy, so change should be easy.
Finally, the path must be clear, without obstacles or unacceptable costs. If any of these three conditions are not met, change will be difficult. The client will not change banks.