Bank of Scotland claims Scots carbon cutting first

Edinburgh-based Bank of Scotland has said that it has developed into the first major Scottish firm to go carbon neutral.

The first annual Climate Change Report of the bank showed that over two years it has cut its UK emissions by sixty-five per cent. In 2004, its CO2 emissions were 163,000 which remained 57,000 tonnes in the year 2006.

The bank is also the only bank in the UK to neutralise unavoidable emissions by making use of only 100% Kyoto compliant carbon credits.

In 80 per cent of the company’s buildings in Scotland, low energy light bulbs are fitted, and it is planning to adopt recycled paper.

Bank Of Scotland has also started using latest software to cut electricity wastage by PCs. The company is also planning Europe’s first carbon-neutral Web Saver account, a green mortgage and is already providing paper-less statements to more than a million clients.

Welcoming the action plan of the bank, Scottish Minister for Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson, said, “Business has a key role to play in developing solutions to climate change and influencing consumer behaviour”.

General manager of communications at BOS, Shane O’Riordain, said, “We know there is more to do. Our priority is to reduce as much as possible the CO2 we produce at source. In addition to the initiatives outlined today, we will soon be announcing further measures to help us achieve this”.