RBS carbon reduction fund – FoES comment
Royal Bank of Scotland today (10 December 2012) announced a new lending scheme to introduce technology to reduce energy costs for larger businesses.
Paul Daly, Corporate Accountability Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland said:
“This is Royal Bank of Scotland’s latest greenwashing strategy. It is progressive that they encourage others to increase sustainable practices, but RBS must look at its own business practices and ethics.
“It is totally hypocritical that RBS are calling on others to change their business approach, given that RBS is the UK bank that is most heavily involved in financing the global coal industry as well as investing in the Canadian tar sands. Not only have tar sands been called the ‘most destructive project on earth’, but more recently the devastating effects have been shown to be more widespread than previously thought.
“The UK taxpayer still predominantly owns RBS, and has done since the bank was bailed out in 2008. Since then we have seen the bank flounder, and continue to make terrible investment choices, give bonuses to unscrupulous bankers, and become embroiled in the LIBOR rate fixing scandal.”
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact: Per Fischer, Press Office, Friends of the Earth Scotland
t: 0131 243 2719
Notes to Editors
1. RBS fund to help firms cut energy costs:
www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/rbs-fund-to-help-firms-cut-energy-costs.19624255
2. Friends of the Earth Scotland ‘Clean up RBS’ campaign:
www.foe-scotland.org.uk/cleanuprbs
3. Canadian tar sands:
www.foe-scotland.org.uk/tarsands
4. Contamination of tar sands spreading further than previously thought:
www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/rbs-fund-to-help-firms-cut-energy-costs.19624255
5. Friends of the Earth Scotland is * Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation * An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland * Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 77 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups – covering every continent.
www.foe-scotland.org.uk