1. What would you like the Union to do?
Banks play a powerful but often invisible role in exacerbating the climate crisis. As students open bank accounts—particularly during Freshers Week—the Union has a unique opportunity and responsibility to ensure our student community is well equipped with comprehensive, ethical, and environmentally focused information to make the choice of who to bank with.
Hence, the Union should strengthen its climate commitment by:
A) Ending and banning active promotion of environmentally harmful banks through SU events and partnerships:
The Union should cut ties with environmentally and socially harmful banks, ensuring that they are no longer invited at Union events aimed at promoting their banking services. However, these institutions should still be welcomed in panel discussions or educational spaces where multiple perspectives are encouraged. This approach ensures a distinction between informed debate and implicit endorsement.
For clarity on which banks to be listed as environmentally and socially harmful banks, the Union should follow the assessment of experts on the matter like the MotherTree Bank League Table and Switch It Green.
B) The Union Finance Committee should prioritize the environmental and ethical implications of a bank when making any banking-related decisions.
2. Why would you like to do this?
Despite widespread student support for climate action, many students are unknowingly banking with institutions that fund the fossil fuel industry. In 2023 alone, the top 60 global banks poured over $705 billion into fossil fuel companies, with Barclays leading among European banks (Banking on Climate Chaos, 2024). The average student account—even with a zero balance—supports an estimated £1.5 million in fossil fuel investments due to bank lending practices (Switch It Green, 2024).
This motion will ensure that the Union plays a proactive role in educating students about banking, while also reinforcing its climate commitments by ending partnerships that implicitly legitimise environmentally damaging banks. These changes also align with the SU’s existing Sustainability Strategy.
3. How will this affect students?
By supporting the Banking Task Force and embedding its work the Union will foster student leadership on ethical finance and build pressure on harmful banking practices. This reinforces the Union’s role as a climate leader and ensures continuity for campaigns aligned with student priorities.
Passing this motion ensures that students are equipped to bank with their values, that the Union stays true to its climate commitments, and that students are at the forefront of reshaping financial norms for a more just and sustainable future.