Note:

This area of our website offers information about some of the things we do as a responsible business. For information about how you could go green and how we’re helping UK homes become greener visit our Greener homes page.

Climate-related financial disclosures

Explore our emissions, risks and opportunities associated with climate change, and how we’re responding to them.

Environmental standard

Understand how our policies, guides and training inspire the thinking behind environmental performance at every level of our organisation.


Our support for a net-zero economy

We support the transition to a net-zero economy and aim to reduce our environmental impact through our business operations. As a building society, our focus is on providing banking products and services for our customers. We have very limited corporate lending through small, closed commercial real estate and private finance initiative portfolios, and lending to registered social landlords. Because of how we operate, we don't lend to, or invest in the fossil fuel industry.

Intermediate (by 2030) net-zero targets

We have set intermediate (by 2030) science-based targets for reducing our carbon emissions, in line with the UK’s goal to be net-zero by 2050.

Some of the action we are taking includes:


  1. 100% renewable electricity

    We continue to source 100% renewable electricity.


  1. Gas free by the end of 2030

    We are in the process of becoming gas-free across all our business operations by the end of 2030 and replacing this with electrical solutions.


Measuring our waste and water consumption

We continue to divert as much waste as possible from landfill, with 96% of waste being diverted over the financial year, ending 4 April 2023. We also measure our waste and water consumption across our sites. Find out more about this on page 42 of our Climate-related Financial Disclosures (opens in a new window).


Our approach to biodiversity

We don't lend to, or invest in, businesses involved in agriculture, manufacturing, fashion, forestry and animal testing industries (among others). However, we continue to consider our approach to supporting and enhancing biodiversity around our property estate. We have a five-year management action plan in place to support our progress around our head office grounds in Swindon.

More information can be found on page 11 of our climate-related financial disclosures (opens in a new window).

Oakfield development

Nationwide’s Oakfield development, which consists of 239 EPC A-rated homes, built on a brownfield site in Swindon, was opened to the public in December 2022.

We worked closely with the local community in the design and planning, with the development achieving accreditation by Building with Nature. We hope our approach to Oakfield will become a blueprint for other responsible organisations who wish to build housing developments, in collaboration with local communities.