Starling Bank to offset its annual carbon emissions from 2021

Being carbon neutral is an important goal to make and, as COP26 closes out its first week, Starling has revealed it is set to achieve it earlier than planned.

Starting from 2021, Starling Bank will offset the carbon emissions from its own operations and by 2030 will be carbon neutral including its supply chain.

Having completed its first greenhouse gas audit, the bank has looked at how it can neutralise or offset its emissions through purchasing credible, certified carbon credits.

“Understanding our carbon emissions enables us to make targeted improvements as we continue to grow,” Anne Boden, CEO and founder of Starling Bank said. 

“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that we face globally, and Starling is 100 per cent committed to playing its part in the fight against it, not just in the lead up to 2050, but starting right away. This is urgent and we know that our customers expect no less from us.”

For the year leading up to 31 March 2021, Starling’s total emissions were 7,731 tonnes of CO2.

Starling has excluded emissions relating to loans and investments in its carbon footprint tracking, instead choosing to pick targets for its entire operations further down the line.

All three of Starling’s UK offices—in London, Cardiff and Southampton—all already run on renewable energy and earlier this year it introduced the UK’s first Mastercard debit card made out of recycled plastic.

The digital bank is also planning to plant 50,000 trees in a partnership with Trillion Trees.