Banking on Values: Triodos Bank

The chapter analyses Triodos Bank, a Dutch ethical and sustainable bank with branches in four European countries. It was founded in 1980 and its mission is “to make money work for positive social, environmental and cultural change.” Triodos finances and invests in companies, institutions, and projects within an ecological, social, and cultural scope. Triodos’ principles are reflected via a thorough qualitative decision process. In general, it excludes loan applicants involving “any product, service, or business process that it believes would hinder the development of a sustainable civil society. Specifically, Triodos does not lend to organizations, businesses, and projects whose activities products, services, or processes are more than 5% non‐sustainable.” Triodos is highly transparent when it comes to its portfolio of investments. The company’s portfolio is disclosed on its website, enabling customers to track directly where their money is put to work through an interactive map. Triodos also invests money directly through several green funds which are under its management. These funds provide an additional instrument to raise capital for responsible investments. The ethical funds invest in different themes such as microfinance, sustainable trade, organic agriculture, climate and energy, sustainable real estate, arts and culture. Triodos’ mission is translated into a set of business principles that all employees are expected to follow. The executive board and senior management are charged with managing these principles. The principles promote sustainable development, obedience to the law, respect for human rights and the environment, accountability and continuous improvement. The principles are paired with practical instructions regarding, for example, internal and external auditing of, and reporting on the bank’s environmental performance. Bonuses are not part of employees’ compensation packages. The bank does not set any up-front targets that influence worker pay. The bank believes that its employees act on their intrinsic, value-based motivation. The bank has also implemented a whistleblower policy in order to promote compliance with its principles.