Ethical Policy at The Co-operative Bank plc

		Our Ethical Policy
		It’s our customers money, so we asked for their views on how it should and shouldn’t be invested. To make it easy for you to see how opinions have been taken into account, we’ve indicated the changes to our Ethical Policy and shown how much support each received from our customers.

CUSTOMER SURVEY
RESULTS IN BRIEF

Human Rights ^{more info} We will not invest in or provide financial services to :
96%		any regime or organisation which oppresses the human spirit or takes away the rights of the individual
96%		manufacturers of torture equipment or other equipment that is used in the violation of human rights
Armaments ^{more info} We will not invest in or provide financial services to any business involved in the:
94%		manufacture
94%		sale
95%		licensed production
95%		brokerage
		of armaments to any country which has oppressive regime
Trade and Social Involvement ^{more info} We will seek to support and encourage:
95%		the business of organisations which promote the concept of Fair trade
93%		business customers and suppliers to take a pro-active stance on ethical sourcing with any Third World suppliers they may use
91%		organisations participating in the UK social economy e.g. co-operatives, credit unions and charities
95%		suppliers whose activities are compatible with our Ethical Policy
	In addition, our customers’ money will not be used to finance any of the following activities:
95%		we will ensure that our financial services are not exploited for the purpose of money laundering relating to the proceeds of drug trafficking, terrorism and other serious crime
90%		we will avoid investment and currency trading in developing countries which does not support productive purposes
84%		we will not participate in currency speculation which consciously damages the economies of sovereign states
75%		we will not invest in or provide financial services to tobacco product manufacturers

Environmental Impact ^{more info}
94%	We will encourage business customers to take a pro-active stance on the environmental impact of their own activities and will invest in companies that avoid repeated damage to the environment
	In line with the principles of our Ecological Mission Statement we will not invest in any business or organisation that, as core activity, relies on:
92%		the extraction or production of fossil fuels, which contribute to problems such as global climate change and acid rain
		the manufacture of unnatural chemicals which may contribute to problems such as ozone depletion, or which may accumulate in nature
		the unsustainable harvest of natural resources such as timber clearance, which leads to deforestation
Animal Welfare We will not invest in, or provide financial services to, organisations involved in the following activities:
88%		animal testing
87%		household products or their ingredients
88%		exploitative factory farming methods
86%		blood sports, which involve the use of animals or birds to catch, fight or kill each other
83%		fur farming and the trade in animal fur
Customer Consultation We will regularly re-appraise customers' views on these and other issues and develop our ethical stance accordingly.
92%		From time to time we seek to represent our customers’ views on the issues contained within the Ethical Policy and other ethical issues.
89%		On occasion we will make decisions on specific business ethical issues not included in our Ethical Policy.