Our commitment to customers
As well as operating our own business in a sustainable way, we also want to help our business customers achieve long-term prosperity through developing sustainable growth plans, considering both the environment and the wider society in which organisations operate.
We have partnered with Future-Fit, a non-profit organisation, which provides businesses, investors and policy makers with the tools and guidance to create a more sustainable future.
The partnership is key to our approach to sustainability within our business and Future-Fit is part of our sustainability strategy. We are committed to embedding our priorities into our core operational and strategic decisions. These include increasing digital inclusion, financial education and wellbeing, removing barriers to business and community success and protecting and nurturing the environment.
The Mobiliser Fund
The Mobiliser Fund has an ambition to deliver over 20% of business lending balances (drawn debt) by FY27 to facilitate a transition towards the next UK economy.
Virgin Money will use this fund to finance companies:
- Enabling a Future-Fit society through our Sustainability Changemakers programme
- Companies in more energy intense sectors who are pro-actively transitioning to a net zero economy through taking ESG-led action
For more information, please see our Eligibility criteria document.
Virgin Money Sustainable Business Coach
As part of our partnership with Future-Fit, we have developed a benchmarking tool that helps support businesses that are actively taking steps to create a sustainable future. The tool supports business of all sizes, including SMEs, to rapidly understand their likely environmental and social impacts, and provides guidance on remedial steps to ensure they achieve their sustainability objectives.
It has a user-friendly question set that draws upon the established Future-Fit methodology that enables businesses to holistically assess their environmental and social impacts. The tool uses a scoring mechanism and guidance to identify and address areas which require further focus.
Businesses can also use the coaching tool to enter a self-certified initiative called 'Future-Fit Engaged', demonstrating the business has started to take action against high priority ESG goals.
Any business can access to the full tool and its features, and is not limited just to Virgin Money’s customers. Search for "Sustainable Business Coach" in your app store or visit: uk.virginmoney.com/business/sustainable-business-coach/ Link opens in a new window
Sustainability-Linked Loans
We continue to offer a Sustainability-Linked Loans proposition in commercial banking, (defined as loans Virgin Money generates without an arrangement fee where the customer has met the pre-set ESG related criteria) using the Sustainable Business Coach to appraise a company's core purpose and operational activities. This will reduce the cost of finance for businesses whose core activities enables consumers and other businesses to operate in a more economically and environmentally sustainable way.
For eligible customers, borrowing at least £250,000 and with a sufficiently strong ESG assessment, our SLLs will have no arrangement fee. By 2027 our ambition is for 10% of all business lending balances to be through Sustainability Changemakers, whose core goods and services drive social or environmental change, such as reducing dependency on non-renewable energy sources and reclamation and recycling of waste. As of September 2023, we’re on track with 6.7% of our business balances leant to firms whose core activities enable consumers and other businesses to operate in a more economically and environmentally sustainable way, as judged by our Sustainability Benchmarking Tool.