54. The dirty secrets: Is your bank fueling climate change?
The term "vote with your dollar" is starting to become fairly well-known. People understand that how they spend their money and what companies and products they support matters. But what most people don't know is that we must also pay attention to what our money is doing when it's just sitting in our banks. Because (and this might come as a surprise to many, as it did to me) it's not just sitting there, it's out in the world doing stuff. Your money funds thing.
So, what exactly is your money funding? That's exactly what we're about to get into in this episode with Benjamin Stuart, Chief Marketing Officer at Bank of The West and an expert on this topic. This bank is not like most other banks, they know money has the power to finance positive change and are taking action to support activities that help protect the planet and improve people’s lives.
Here are some resources to check out in addition to this episode:
Bank of The West Website: https://www.bankofthewest.com/
Banking on Climate Change (Report by Rainforest Action Network): https://www.ran.org/bankingonclimatechange2020/
Resources on How to Change Banks: https://www.womenpowerourplanet.org/takeaction
NYT Article by Bill McKibben: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/11/opinion/climate-change-bank-investment.html
Jane Fonda's Fire Drill Friday: http://firedrillfridays.org/
350.org "Stop The Money Pipeline": https://350.org/
