Virgin Money has introduced a new self-certification scheme to its Sustainable Business Coach, designed to help businesses better demonstrate their commitments to sustainability and get on the path to achieving their environmental and social goals.
The Future-Fit Engaged self-certification scheme is the first of its kind in banking and has been developed by Virgin Money in partnership with Future-Fit Foundation, a non-profit organisation whose mission is to catalyse the transition to a regenerative society.
The free-to-use tool, which can be accessed via Virgin Money’s Sustainable Business Coach app, enables businesses to set environmental and social ambitions, take better day-to-day decisions to achieve these and demonstrate their progress to stakeholders, with the self-certification achieved when they meet the Future-Fit Engaged criteria. The scheme forms part of the Sustainable Business Coach, which helps companies to determine the impact of their business on the environment and wider society, prioritise their sustainability targets and the actions required to meet these and track delivery
To qualify for self-certification through Future-Fit Engaged, businesses need to complete five key actions:
- Register for and complete the Virgin Money Sustainable Business Coach.
- Take action on at least one high priority goal determined by the coach to meet the requirements of the business.
- Assign a business owner to monitor progress against these actions and goals.
- Discuss the progress at a board/senior management meeting to ensure sustainability becomes a focal point for accountability and action.
- Set a date to review and report on progress.
Once complete, companies will receive their Future-Fit Engaged self-certification and can display their logo alongside other businesses on the Future-Fit website to showcase that they are on the path to achieving their sustainability goals to their customers, colleagues and other organisations.
Scott McFarlane, sustainability lead for business banking at Virgin Money, said: “Customers and stakeholders rightly expect businesses of all sizes to prioritise ESG and demonstrate actions to minimise their environmental and social impact. The new Future-Fit Engaged self-certification on our Sustainable Business Coach apps helps SMEs to educate themselves on the most effective ways to operate more sustainably and make positive decisions to achieve this, backed by clear goals and progress tracking. Offering access to a straightforward, independent certification that will encourage more resilient and sustainable businesses, is just one way we’re helping change business for good in partnership with Future-Fit Foundation.”
Martin Rich, CEO & Co-founder, Future-Fit Foundation, said: “Future-Fit Engaged recognises a company's first steps on the journey to becoming a truly regenerative business. We're therefore delighted to continue deepening our partnership with Virgin Money in this way and working together on supporting businesses to build a flourishing future for all.”
For more information about the Sustainable Business Coach and the Future-Fit Engaged self-certification scheme, download the fact sheet or visit: https://uk.virginmoney.com/business/sustainable-business-coach/
For more information about Future-Fit Foundation, visit: https://futurefitbusiness.org/.