Responsible Travel drops Barclays over fossil fuel financing

Responsible Travel has divested from Barclays Bank, a complex and time-consuming process but one that ultimately we are very happy we embarked on. Despite Barclays’ high levels of customer service and support, particularly during Covid, we cannot in good conscience continue to bank with an organisation that remains one of the biggest funders for the fossil fuel sector in Europe.

Our action stems from an encounter with Caroline Lucas at a Chamber of Commerce event in Brighton, when the Green MP reminded us that one of the most important things that anyone, or any business, can do in the fight against climate change is to ensure you are not passively funding it, whether it be banking, investing on the stock market, or pensions.

This was not an easy decision for us to take. Barclays is one of the few UK banks that are easy for travel businesses to work with. And they have been extremely supportive – Barclays provided two of our three ‘Coronavirus business interruption loans’ – it’s not far-fetched to say we might not still be here without them.

But Barclays is also one of the worst banks for funding the fossil fuel projects that are driving the climate crisis. It is true that Barclays has claimed it is scaling down support for the sector, but in 2022 it still provided some £13 billion. Also, Barclays has only ruled out direct funding for specific projects designed to expand oil and gas production – that’s a pretty big loophole that will allow them to continue funding businesses involved in fossil fuel extraction. “We just could not square that circle with our values, we couldn’t support it,” says Responsible Travel’s Joint Managing Director, Tim Williamson.

Why we switched to Unity Trust Bank

Unity Trust is an award-winning ethical bank based in Birmingham that invests in social projects that make a positive difference around the UK. Unity's loan portfolio and treasury investments do not contribute to global climate change via the production of fossil fuels, mining or heavy manufacturing.

Initially, however, Unity Trust turned our business down as they had never taken on a travel company before. Switching took persistence, and several calls to reassure them of our bona fides, but we were determined, as so few ethical banks have business banking facilities – having found them, we didn’t want to pass this opportunity up.

“It took a long time and we had to argue our case but hopefully we’ve now laid the groundwork for other travel companies, who will find the process easier,” says Tim. “And we’ve seen no compromise in the level of customer service either. If anything it’s improved at Unity Trust.”

The scale of the challenge we face in the climate crisis is daunting, but we all – as businesses and individuals – have it within our power to make positive changes and become part of the solution. Switching to a bank that doesn’t invest in fossil fuel projects is one of the biggest, and we hope that other companies will soon begin to follow our example. It’s not easy, but we’ve shown that it can be done.