Vancity meets its goal to be carbon neutral

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union is the first North American-based financial institution to be carbon neutral, the credit union announced today.
Watch the video clip.

Being carbon neutral means that the CO₂ emissions Vancity creates are now equal to the emissions it has reduced or offset elsewhere.

This goal, which the Vancity Group, including Citizens Bank of Canada, voluntarily set in 2006 for 2010, was achieved early through a rigorous emissions reduction program focusing on energy use, staff travel, paper consumption and waste.

Over the last 10 years, Vancity cut its energy use by 50 per cent, incidents of staff commuting to work by driving alone by 13 per cent, and its paper consumption by 30 per cent saving well over $2 million in energy costs alone.

What it couldn’t reduce, it offset by investing in high-quality, verified emission reduction projects, in British Columbia and beyond.

To celebrate hitting its carbon neutral target, Vancity is 'paying it forward' by helping other organizations shrink their own carbon footprints.

It will do this by paying for 25 small-to-medium-sized businesses to participate in Ecotrust Canada’s Climate Smart Workgroups, launched last year in partnership with the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, to help organizations calculate and reduce their CO₂ emissions.

Vancity will also help other organizations fight climate change by sharing its tools and processes around how it achieved carbon neutrality on its .

The announcements were made at a celebration event at Vancity Centre where a new banner was unveiled that declares Vancity carbon neutral. The banner will be recycled into fabric bags once its primary lifespan is over.

At the event, CEO Tamara Vrooman said that Vancity’s emissions are now 50 per cent lower per employee than the average Canadian financial institution and assured them that this is only the beginning.

“We may have achieved our goal to be carbon neutral, but this is just one step on our journey,” Vrooman said. “Reducing our emissions is integral to how we do business. Our focus is now on staying carbon neutral and continuing to reduce our emissions, as well as setting new goals to challenge ourselves and other organizations to raise their game in fighting climate change.”

Vrooman was joined by Canadian climate change activist David Suzuki, who recognized employees for their commitment to helping Vancity meet its goal.

“We all need to work together to solve the problem of global warming and I applaud Vancity for taking a leadership role,” said Dr. Suzuki. “By cutting emissions and going carbon neutral, Vancity is making a difference. Just as importantly, they’re helping set a positive example for other businesses and organizations to follow.”

Vancity Board of Directors Chair Patrice Pratt says Vancity is hoping that other businesses take up the charge.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time – since the early ‘90s – back when green was just a colour, and we can assure you that in addition to being good for the environment, it’s good for our business too. We’ve not only reduced our impact on climate change and helped our members do the same, but we’ve saved money.”

About Vancity

Vancity is a values-based financial co-operative serving the needs of its 570,000 member-owners and their communities, with offices and more than 50 branches located in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Squamish and Alert Bay, within the territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw people. With $35.5 billion in assets plus assets under administration, Vancity is Canada's largest credit union. Vancity uses its assets to help improve the financial well-being of its members while at the same time helping to develop healthy communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.