Atom Bank has bought 25 acres of woodland on the site of an old open cast coal mine near to its Durham headquarters to help offset its carbon footprint and be climate positive by 2035.

The site the digital bank has purchased is at Druridge Bay in Northumberland, which is hour’s drive from its Durham base.

The woodland was planted 18 months ago and its willow, sycamore, birth, alder and rowan are beginning to emerge from their protective tubing.

It is committed to reducing its carbon intensity of its lending by investing in natural capital, purchasing or lending on an additional 100 hectares of land this financial year.

To offset power used in heat, power, travel and IT the bank has already reduced its emissions by around 600 tonnes a year.

“However, it is not yet zero, so we start our journey here by directly owning this woodland,” said the bank.

“And, through direct ownership, we also take on responsibility for tree growth and year to year management of the woodland, rather than purchasing remotely delivered credits.

“We believe this is an innovative approach for banks to contribute to a more sustainable future, and we’re excited to be leading the way.”

Atom bank chief executive Mark Mullen added: “We’ve made this significant investment in an area local to Atom because we recognise the responsibility we have to our planet.

“In time these trees should store more CO2 than our company has been responsible for emitting in all the years since we were founded.

“This is an important step as we target becoming climate positive by 2035, which means we will take more carbon out of the atmosphere through our lending and investment choices than we are responsible for emitting.”

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