Green bank on track to cut CO2 emissions with solar roof

Triodos, a bank that invests in environmentally and socially sustainable projects, has reduced its carbon emissions through its recently installed solar panel array at its headquarters in Bristol.


The bank installed 40 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to the roof of its offices earlier in the year and is on track to generate almost 9,000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity a year from the array.

The PV panels will also save five tonnes of carbon dioxide per year and benefit from Feed-in Tariff subsidies.

Renewable energy is a key sector for the bank and was one of their largest growth areas for loans in 2011. Triodos recently funded the installation of a large solar PV array for Glastonbury Festival organiser Michael Eavis on the ‘Mootel’, a cow barn at his Somerset farm.

The bank’s new UK headquarters, which is part of a development that includes the Environment Agency’s new national headquarters, have been built to demanding environmental standards.

Kit Beazley, Triodos’ Head of Finance, said: “Triodos exists to demonstrate that banks can marry sustainability with commercial success, so when we moved to our new building it was important that it matched our ethos and values.”

The solar panels, sustainable construction methods and furnishings have helped the building achieve an “excellent” rating under the Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).

Leigh Stringer

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