Virgin Money UK joins Future-Fit development council

Virgin Money has joined the development council of Future-Fit Foundation, a non-profit organisation that wants to transition to a society that is environmentally, socially and economically fair.
Martin Rich, co-founder and executive director of Future-FitMartin Rich, co-founder and executive director of Future-Fit
Martin Rich, co-founder and executive director of Future-Fit

Future-Fit provides businesses with the tools and guidance required for this change, while managing and disclosing progress towards the elimination of negative environmental and social impacts.

Virgin Money is in the process of converting Yorkshire Bank branches to the Virgin Money brand.

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It said it is the first bank to join the development council, a group of international companies from across key industry sectors.

Members are committed to sustainability leadership and are willing to collaborate actively in the development of the Future-Fit methodology and tools.

Virgin Money will join existing members, such as Chanel, De Beers, Novo Nordisk and The Body Shop, and will boost the group by providing the insights of a bank and a major provider of financial services to the UK SME market.

Gavin Opperman, group business director at Virgin Money, said: “Given the turmoil over the last few months, we need to work together to rebuild our economy.

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"Fundamental to this will be the need to help businesses achieve future long term prosperity through developing sustainable growth plans, taking into account both the environment and the wider society in which the organisation operates."

He said that there is increased demand for organisations to report on a broader set of metrics and performance indicators.

"Future-Fit is at the cutting edge in developing a simple, meaningful and effective approach that will help define the next generation of extra-financial data reporting and we are very much looking forward to working with them," he added.

Martin Rich, co-founder and executive director of Future-Fit, said: “Future-Fit Foundation helps businesses gain an holistic understanding of their environmental and social impacts, and to measure, manage and articulate those impacts to create system value.

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"The dynamic leadership and clear commitment to sustainable business practice within Virgin Money made them an obvious partner for us. We are absolutely delighted to welcome them into the development council as the first UK banking member.”

Virgin Money said the partnership is key to its approach to sustainability.

The bank said it is taking the opportunity to develop a new sustainability strategy, committing to embedding its key priorities into the core business and strategic decisions.

These include increasing financial inclusion and wellbeing, removing barriers to business and community success, and protecting and nurturing the environment.

Graeme Sands, corporate and mid-market director at Virgin Money, will sit on the development council on behalf of the bank.