Atom bank's 22% emissions cut and the path to climate positivity

Emissions reduction alongside record growth

The impressive 22% reduction in operational carbon emissions over the last financial year is particularly noteworthy because it coincided with a period of substantial business expansion, including:

• A 19% increase in customer numbers
• A 29% rise in lending balances
• A 31% increase in savings deposits.

This performance provides tangible proof that driving operational efficiency and sustainability can be a catalyst for business success. And as a result of achievements like this and similar results in the two preceding years, Atom bank remains committed to its goal of becoming climate positive from 2035, one of the most ambitious climate pledges of any UK bank.

The power of better data: challenging mortgage emissions

Beyond its focus on operational efficiency and reducing the carbon intensity of its lending, Atom bank is committed to greater transparency and drive for better environmental data across the entire banking sector.

During 2025 the bank conducted a trial in collaboration with Experian and Durham University, comparing theoretical Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) estimates with actual electricity and gas meter readings for over 1,000 properties in Atom’s mortgage book. The results were stark, suggesting that not only Atom, but  the wider industry, is likely over-reporting residential mortgage emissions by as much as 50% due to the unreliability of current EPC data. The trial also critically showed minimal variation in actual emissions between the most and least energy-efficient homes (Bands A-C vs D-G).  This research shows the limitations of the use of EPC as proxies for energy use and carbon emissions and highlights the importance for real-world data, like meter readings, to accurately understand and reduce financed emissions.

Experts at University College London’s (UCL) Energy Institute also observed a similar pattern across a larger national dataset - finding little variation in primary energy use above EPC band C.

Atom bank is now urging collaboration across the financial services, government, and energy sectors to accelerate EPC reform and focus efforts on providing low-carbon, low-cost power and heat to all households.

Investing directly in nature

With the world experiencing challenges to both global climate and biodiversity, Atom bank’s climate-positive strategy is also supported by direct investment in natural capital:

• Poppy's Wood: In 2024 the bank purchased 25 acres of newly planted broadleaf woodland in Northumberland. This land is projected to sequester nearly 7,000 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, which is equivalent to the entire amount of operational carbon the bank has produced since it was founded in 2014 up until 2024. This direct ownership model allows the bank to efficiently generate high-quality, controllable carbon credits and is the basis for looking again at how banks can use the unique status that they enjoy as lenders and the size of their balance sheets to grow more natural capital assets.
• Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG): In the UK there is a requirement on developers of new housing or commercial developments to create at least 110% of any loss in biodiversity from their development activity. This is measured as Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) and a system of credits has been established for developers to buy into if they cannot create new habitats on their own land. Atom bank’s core lending activity is to support families to own their own homes and businesses to grow their firms - and so seeing new houses and new offices and factories being built is key to their success.

But like so many others, Atom also wants these developments to happen without an impact on nature, and so Atom is using its core lending business to provide crucial capital to accelerate the emerging market for BNG credits. By funding the creation of habitat banks, such as a 20-hectare site in Cambridgeshire and a 38-hectare site in Northampton in areas of rapid housing growth, it is directly supporting the creation and protection of new habitats while helping to unlock much-needed housing in the UK.

As Edward Twiddy, Director of ESG and co-founder at Atom bank, noted: “We believe it is possible - and in fact essential - to be sustainable both financially and environmentally. The 22% reduction in our operational emissions since last year is the result of positive initiatives spearheaded by teams across all areas of the bank. Our data-driven challenge to the standard models of using EPCs to estimate emissions comes from a desire to show everyone that it is possible for banks to support the nation’s net zero goals, and our push to promote markets in nature and Biodiversity Net Gain supports the UK’s ambition to build homes for all that are not at the expense of the future. We’re a small but growing part of UK banking, and very proud that we are providing some real examples of sustainable banking.”

BBVA invested in Atom ten years ago when it had just launched as the UK’s first mobile-only bank. Today, BBVA is its main shareholder and considers its stake in Atom a strategic investment that enables it to stay connected with purely digital banking models, share knowledge, and learn from its innovation and sustainability strategies.