Page 18 - Green Builder Magazine Jul-Aug 2021

Climate First Bank

S 1% 4
T

A for the planet green goals
T
Gross sales to be donated to grassroots, Top pro-environmental plans from
S
environmental nonprofits promoting clean energy and climate action

OR KEN LAROE, CEO of Climate First Bank, it all desired funds are meant to reduce the carbon footprint,
comes down to one statement: The world’s domestic and the client meets the bank’s sustainability-based values,
troubles aren’t going to matter if there is no world. And there’s a good chance one type of green will lead to another.
F that, he says, is where we are headed. The bank has a list of acceptable client types. In, for
There’s an “existential crisis”—Climate Change—that peo- example, are those who want to launch or improve a green
ple are ignoring, denying or failing to understand. So LaRoe business. Out are extractive types such as those catering to
recently took on the challenge of educating the public by open- mining, fracking and bottled water. In the middle—maybe
ing the first branch of Climate First Bank in St. Petersburg, yes, maybe no—are persons who want a new office building
Florida, in June. Unlike the basic financial institution, Climate but don’t care if it’s LEED certified.
First’s focus is not on typical personal or automotive loans, LaRoe says the idea for Climate First came to him while he
retirement plans or luxury home mortgages. Instead, financial was reading Paul Hawken’s 2017 book, “Drawdown: The Most
ventures have a distinctively eco-friendly feel to them. Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warm-
Specialized loans are offered for fossil fuel diversions such ing.” The publication features 100 techniques and practices to
as solar panels, and for the purchase of electric or hybrid combat Climate Change, that, if used collectively, “represent
vehicles and vehicle charging stations. There are home equity a credible path forward, not just to slow the Earth’s warming,
lines of credit for energy-efficient improvements or retrofits. but to reach drawdown—that point in time when greenhouse
Commercial lending products abound for businesses that gasses in the atmosphere peak and begin to decline.”
want to move up to sustainable operations. In short, if the A handful of the concepts appeared suitable for a

Green thinker. Climate First CEO Ken LaRoe wants the banking industry
Ready, set, launch. Climate First Bank employees, including CEO Ken LaRoe to consider how it can mitigate emissions—and combat Climate
(holding scissors) and St. Petersburg, Florida, officials celebrate the opening of the Change—through the services it offers customers and employees.
bank’s first branch last June. COURTESY OF CLIMATE FIRST BANK COURTESY OF CLIMATE FIRST BANK
16 GREEN BUILDER July/August 2021 www.greenbuildermedia.com