Put Your Business Finances to Work for Climate Impact

Like any other business move, financial decisions should be guided by your values. For climate-friendly companies, that means reconsidering banking, retirement, and insurance partners. The Business Climate Finance Guide includes resources and examples from B Corps that are making changes to help protect the future of the planet.

Even for businesses that operate with an eye on impact, banking can be an overlooked opportunity. That was the case for Grain, a design practice dedicated to social and environmental responsibility. 

During the B Corp Certification process, the Washington state-based business realized it could put its money to better use by banking with a fellow B Corp. “Banking wasn’t on our radar before taking our first B Corp assessment,” said Grain Co-Founder Chelsea Minola. “Still, through the process, we learned how impactful our banking relationship could be to our carbon footprint and social justice.” 

Grain shifted its money from one of the top four U.S. banks to Beneficial State Bank — a local, independently owned B Corp — and Minola said the benefits of the move go beyond values alignment. “We feel fully empowered as an organization by changing how we bank, invest, and are insured,” she said. “We know that the money that flows in and out of our accounts is being leveraged to fund projects that fuel the climate crisis.”

That financial flow may seem insignificant for a single, small company. But collectively, business capital holds great potential to be a force for good. The six largest U.S. banks — JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley — financed more than $1.8 trillion in fossil fuel companies from 2016 to 2023. 

Faced with these figures, B Corps like Grain are embracing the opportunity for collective action and reconsidering their banking, retirement, and insurance partners. Some were part of a 2024 climate finance working group that learned from leaders of U.S. and Canadian B Corp financial institutions. Collectively, the 55 B Corps in the working group represented a combined annual revenue of more than $6.5 billion. The 12-week program included information and resources highlighted in the Business Climate Finance Guide, which other businesses can use to better align their banking, retirement, and insurance choices with their organizational values. 

The Business Climate Finance Guide includes examples from Grain, Room and Board, The Synergy Company, Omnidian, andCo Hospitality, and other B Corps plus:  

• Insights and concrete steps to help companies shift their banking, retirement plans/401(k)s, and insurance practices and relationships. 
• Change-management processes, from doing internal engagement to obtaining leadership buy-in to engaging external providers. 
• A robust resources section featuring partner organizations and experts.

Mapping Financial Supply Chains and Considering New Pathways

Making the switch to climate-friendly financial partners does take time and intention. In addition to resources to help companies make the shift, the Business Climate Finance Guide highlights how B Corps have managed the change, built internal support and engagement, and discussed the reasons for their decision with existing financial partners.

For larger companies, changing financial institutions is likely to require more decisions and may need an internal champion or two. At B Corp Room and Board, Director of Sustainability Emily McGarvey smoothed the transition by inviting the company’s accounting director to join the B Corp climate finance working group.

Once it became clear that the company’s banking, insurance, and retirement planning partners were likely investing some of Room and Board’s deposits and premiums into projects supporting oil and gas companies, McGarvey said they decided to map their financial supply chain

“Mapping the supply chain was critical to not only understand who our partners were but also to understand the dynamics of those relationships,” she said. “Next, we contacted our external financial partners to understand their approach to climate finance better and whether they have more sustainable offerings that we were unaware of.”

Demonstrating Transparency and Aligning Employee Financial Options

The Synergy Company touts its organic, sustainably sourced ingredients and independent ownership as unique factors in the natural supplement industry. Now, the B Corp is taking a similar, intentional approach to its financial choices. 

Zacharia Levine, Director of People & Sustainability, said the climate finance working group prompted The Synergy Company to evaluate insurance choices through brokers associated with the Premiums for the Planet network. The B Corp also worked with a new retirement plan advisor and administrator to add funds aligned with positive environmental, social, and governance impact as investing options. “We are encouraging our advisory firm to consider becoming a Certified B Corporation as well,” Levine said. 

Partnering with values-aligned businesses is a natural choice for The Synergy Company, which also knows the importance of keeping employees in the loop about the changes and the reasons for them. “All of these initiatives align with our ongoing efforts to embrace open-book management practices,” Levine said. “Providing employees with increased financial transparency and education empowers them to make better-informed decisions that shape our success and impact as a business.”

Moving to B Corp Banks as Values-Aligned Partners

Clean energy is the driving force at Omnidian, a B Corp that protects and accelerates investments in solar energy. As a company that helps others move away from fossil fuels, Omnidian saw a need to do the same with its banking partners. 

“We leverage two banking partners for ongoing operations. We have been with our secondary bank nearly since inception for diversification purposes,” said Jordan Heeger, VP of Finance. “With that said, they are a global bank that is one of the top partners of the fossil-fuel industry.” Prompted by information and support from the climate finance working group, Heeger and others at Omnidian selected a B Corp bank as a new banking partner. 

Similarly, andCo Hospitality (formerly known as Legacy Vacation Resorts), moved its banking operations to B Corp Climate First Bank in 2021.

“This partnership allows us to be confident that our financial activity is built on a strong and sustainable foundation and that our money is working to mitigate climate change rather than fund it,” said Lawrence Mattern, Vice President of Finance. “We measure our success against that exact fact.”

For other businesses considering a similar move, Mattern suggests identifying values-aligned institutions and analyzing how they can help your company achieve its financial goals and remain true to its purpose. “Our largest challenge throughout this process was to remain competitive in a business world where others are purely driven by bottom-line profits, but with challenge comes change, and we hope that our actions are inspiring the industry to be better,” he said.

To learn more about B Lab’s business climate finance programming and resources, sign up for the B Corp Climate Collective email list.