We all know that we can make climate-positive choices by selecting sustainable products, but you can also support climate action by how you invest and bank. Climate First Bank is a climate-focused community bank founded by Ken LaRoe, a banking entrepreneur and outspoken environmentalist with more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Climate First Bank is LaRoe’s third bank, and his second environmentally-focused bank envisioned to reimagine finance as a force for good.
Climate First Bank is guided by exacting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, and embraces the comprehensive plan articulated in the book Drawdown, which outlines a measurable, executable plan to halt catastrophic climate change by ‘drawing down’ atmospheric carbon dioxide as quickly, safely and equitably as possible. Carbon neutral from day one, – Climate First Bank will never invest in extractive industries, and is reducing the nation’s carbon output by providing individuals and businesses with access to convenient, financially accessible, specialized green loan options for everything ranging from rooftop solar to EV auto loans to LEED building retrofits. The Bank also provides standard bank offerings such as business and personal checking and savings accounts, online cash management services, residential mortgages, SBA business lending and more. Although they don’t yet have a physical footprint in our five-county region, climate-conscience individuals can bank with Climate First Bank through their on-line platform.
Climate First Bank plans to be the first certified B-Corp bank in Florida and aspires to become the largest values-based bank in the southeast. The Bank works with the Florida-based environmental nonprofit, We Are Neutral, to properly understand, track, reduce, and offset its environmental impact, while continuing to eliminate the bank’s carbon footprint as it grows. In addition, the bank is a signatory member of the B Corp Climate Collective Commitment: Net Zero 2030, pledging to achieve net zero on all greenhouse gas emissions, whether direct or indirect, by the year 2030.