Arion Bank and Kolviður sign agreement on carbon offsetting

Arion Bank and Kolviður have reached an agreement on offsetting the carbon emissions produced by the Bank's activities. Kolviður will fix the carbon in plants and soil through soil reclamation and forestry to offset the carbon emissions resulting from the Bank's activities during the year. Kolviður is expected to plant up to 5,000 trees this year. Emissions are produced, for example, by vehicles used in the Bank's operations, waste produced by the Bank and flights by employees. Carbon offsetting the Bank’s day-to-day operations forms a part of the Bank’s environment policy.

In 2015 Arion Bank signed the City of Reykjavík and Festa’s Declaration on Climate Change. Since then the Bank has mapped the environmental impact of its environmental impact in collaboration with the innovation company Klappir Green Solutions. A raft of environmental measures have been taken by the Bank, including renewing some of the Bank’s fleet of cars with electric vehicles, cutting back on the use of plastic, sorting refuse and reducing all waste, and raising awareness of these issues among our employees. Employees using environmentally-friendly modes of transport to and from work have been able to apply for a travel allowance since 2012 and the Bank offers its customers a 50% discount on borrowing fees when buying environmentally-friendly vehicles.

Stefán Pétursson, interim CEO of Arion Bank:

“By carbon offsetting our activities, Arion Bank is looking to the future. Carbon offsetting with forestry and soil reclamation is no quick-fix solution to the challenges of climate change as it takes decades to carbon offset each year of operations. However, it is important to prepare for the future and every positive step we take counts. We encourage our customers, partners and companies in Iceland to do the same.”