Existing customers of the Co-operative Bank can now apply for one of its Green Additional Borrowing products to help them make improvements to their home that will reduce their energy consumption and help tackle the climate emergency.
Eligible Co-operative Bank, Britannia and Platform mortgages holders can use the Bank’s new Energy Saving Improvement Tool, powered by Energy Saving Trust, to create a personalised Energy Saving Improvement Plan and access a Green Additional Borrowing product.
These products are available with no fee, either a two or five-year fixed term, at 60-85% LTV with interest rates starting at 2.94%.
In addition to the same application process of a standard additional borrowing product, customers would need to ensure they’ve used the online Energy Saving Improvement Tool to generate an Improvement Plan.
In addition, they must provided the Improvement Plan Report as evidence and ensure they use at least 50% of the loan on ‘green’ home improvements.
The Energy Saving Improvement Tool gives consumers tangible advice on how to make their home more energy efficient. The free to use tool generates an Improvement Plan that provides a list of actions that could be taken to help reduce energy bills, reduce carbon emissions or improve the property’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating, based on the plan selected. It can then provide an estimated cost for making the changes with flexibility allowing plans to be tailored based on the customer’s budget, which can be downloaded or sent via email as a PDF.
John Ward, from The Co-operative Bank, said: “It is clear that climate change is a major worry for UK consumers and a concern we share with our customers. Tackling this important issue continues to be a priority for us and why we have launched our Green Additional Borrowing products, supported by our new Energy Saving Improvement Tool.
“These two initiatives work together to help customers identify where they make investments to improve their home that will have the most benefit to the environment whilst also reducing their energy usage which in turn could mean lower bills at a time when costs are increasing, but also reducing this for the longer term.”
Mark Foskett from Energy Saving Trust added: “We’re delighted to have worked with The Co-operative Bank to create the online Energy Saving Improvement Tool for their customers. Now is a crucial time to support homeowners with long-term energy efficiency recommendations, allowing them to take action on climate change while saving them money on energy bills.”
Recent research for the bank showed that more than 30 million (59%) people believe it is still important to invest in green energy solutions to tackle climate change even if the Green Levy adds to the cost of household energy bills. This shows environmentally conscious consumers are prepared to pay the price to help thwart the climate emergency.
The survey also found 61% of people agreed that addressing the climate crisis is one of the most important issues to tackle in the UK today.
The study also asked consumers to share their thoughts on how their bank should conduct itself on environmental and social matters. The research showed that 37% of people would ask their main bank account provider to do more to support environmental and social issues.