Our work
Why focus on finance?
The financial system affects us all. It plays a central role in some of the biggest problems that our society faces, including extreme inequality, nature loss and the climate crisis, and it can play a central role in the solutions to those crises.
The UK’s finance sector plays an outsized role in the UK economy, and it has global reach and significance. For better and for worse, it affects millions of lives here and around the world.
Women, people of colour, people on low-incomes and others from marginalised communities and backgrounds are the worst impacted by the injustices of the current financial system, and are hugely underrepresented in positions of power within it.
Because the financial system has such wide-reaching impacts, we all have a stake in ensuring it delivers the kinds of outcomes that we need for society, the environment and the economy.
It’s up to all of us to help build a better, fairer, greener financial system.
What we focus on
We focus our work in two main areas:
1. Economic Justice: Tackling root causes of poverty and inequality in the UK and globally.
We work to reduce financial exclusion and injustice in the UK. This currently focuses on a campaign for a Fair Banking Act, which would help to grow the purpose-driven finance sector (e.g. credit unions and Community Development Finance Institutions) so everyone can access the essential financial services and support that they need. We are also campaigning to ensure that everyone has a decent pension so no-one faces poverty in retirement.
We are also building up a newer area of work for us, focused on increasing transparency and accountability in the UK’s financial system to help tackle economic crime and tax dodging, which both lead to major drains of resources from the Global South, and support the accumulation of wealth by small numbers of people, leading to very high levels of global inequality. The UK, as home to one of the world’s largest and most influential financial systems, has a special role and responsibility in cleaning up the system.
2. Environmental Justice: Rapidly phasing out finance for fossil fuels and the destruction of nature, and increasing green investment to support a just transition to a more sustainable economy.
The financial system will have to change significantly to meet the many environmental challenges we face, and help deliver a just transition to a more sustainable economy. We are focused on ensuring that the right policies and regulations are in place to drive capital to finance a just transition to a thriving low-carbon economy, and to help phase out financing of climate and nature destroying activities including fossil fuels.
What we do
We work to change the policies and rules which shape and govern the financial system, so it can deliver more socially, economically and environmentally just outcomes.
- Campaigning – We work with others to influence people in positions of power, and to change finance policy and regulation
- Collaborating – We help to bring together diverse networks of people and organisations who share our vision of a fairer, greener financial system.
- Catalysing – We work to understand the financial system, the impacts that it has, and the ways to change it.
We focus our efforts on areas where we think there is the greatest need and potential to win deep-rooted, long-lasting and wide-reaching change. We typically work on 3-4 key priority areas at a time. These are currently Fair Banking for All, Climate & Nature, and Pensions Reform. We are also developing work on the UK’s role in global economic crime.
Fair Banking for all
Tackling the crisis of problem debt and unaffordable credit in the UK through a campaign for a Fair Banking Act.
climate and nature
Aligning the UK’s finance sector with climate and nature goals to support a just transition to a cleaner, fairer economy.
Reforming the pensions system
Reforming the UK’s pension system so it works better for savers and pensioners, for the economy and for the planet.
Past projects
Find out more about our past projects.