Yorkshire Building Society’s First CR Report Does UK Financial Services Proud

Yorkshire Building Society Group has outlined how it is making a lasting and positive impact on society in the first annual review of its corporate responsibility performance.

Highlights reported by one of the UK’s largest member-owned mutual organisations include a record level of colleague volunteering, with over 26,000 hours being donated to projects and charities in local communities in 2016.

The Group has reduced its carbon footprint by 8% since 2012 and achieved CarbonNeutral® status.

It ended 2016 by achieving 2nd place in the Customer Trust rankings of all major banking services providers in the UK¹.

The full report can be viewed at www.ybs.co.uk/societymatters

Key achievements:

• 64% of Group colleagues participated in a colleague volunteering programme – a significant increase from 35% in 2015.
   
• £1.15 million raised for Marie Curie, funding over 57,500 hours of nursing care for terminally ill people.
   
• £7 million donated to local charities by Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation since its creation in 1998.
   
• 8% reduction in carbon footprint since 2012, with CarbonNeutral® status achieved in 2016.
   
• The Group recognised as Business of the Year at the 2016 Third Sector Business Charity Awards.
   
• 66,000 customers joined the Group by opening savings accounts, including over 11,000 children and 6,000 regular savers in 2016.
   
• 23,000 customers bought a home of their own with the support of a YBS Group mortgage, including 10,000 who were getting on the property ladder for the first time in 2016.

Mike Regnier, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Building Society Group, said: “The importance of businesses and organisations embedding corporate responsibility is paramount in their role as responsible members of their communities.  As a mutual organisation we have a rich heritage of making a positive difference to the communities where our members and colleagues live and work.

“In recent years we have made significant progress on our corporate responsibility ambitions in many areas but we will not rest on our laurels as we know we can achieve more. That’s why we have developed a new corporate responsibility strategy, which we call Society Matters.”

For further information please visit www.ybs.co.uk/societymatters     

Contact: corporateresponsibility@ybs.co.uk

¹As ranked by KPMG Nunwood

Read the Report