A socially responsible bank is one committed to creating social or environmental good without an exclusive focus on profit and without funding causes that can harm people or the planet. These banking institutions — banks, credit unions, and nonbank tech firms — generally prove their impact with external certifications or memberships that reflect their lending practices and community investments.
Part of how banks make a profit is by using the money in your checking, savings and other accounts to make loans to businesses, home buyers and other customers. But you don’t have a say in what your bank supports with those funds. They could be activities you don't support, such as projects that lead to deforestation or new oil pipelines or data centers. That’s where these environmental or social impact-based certifications or memberships can help guide you to a more socially responsible bank.
These banks can also be called values-based or ethical banks, whereas the term “sustainable banks” tends to emphasize an environmental bent, according to multiple banks NerdWallet has spoken with. Here's an explainer on sustainable banking:
1. Start with certifications
Certifications provide external proof that a bank is serious about creating a positive impact and minimizing harm to people and the planet. Not every certification requires the same effort level to attain, so look carefully at which ones a bank promotes on its website.
The two most rigorous seals are institutions that are Certified B Corporations and members of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. Both are available worldwide, but of the 9,000 U.S. banks and credit unions, about 20 have either certification. Other important designations can be broken down into environmental- and community-based certifications. (Skip to the full list of certifications.)
In terms of benefits, third-party certifications “allow values-aligned customers to discover our bank,” says Monique Johnson, senior vice president, director of client and community partnerships at Beneficial State Bank based in Oakland, California. Certifications “legitimize our impact and efforts in an unbiased and standard measurement.”
2. See which banks are nationally available or near you
A decent number of socially responsible financial institutions focus on a general U.S. consumer base by offering online accounts and services. If you need to have branch access, though, your options might be more limited. Some credit unions also have membership eligibility requirements based on geographic regions. The broadest mission-driven certification is community development financial institution, or CDFI, which focuses on banking services and loans in underserved areas.
3. Consider the overall account and banking experience
There are typically some trade-offs when your next bank is mission-driven. For starters, you have to cross off many of the biggest U.S. banks from your list. They extensively fund the fossil fuel industry, among other harmful causes. The main thing you give up by skipping the biggest banks is a nationwide, single-bank branch network.
» MORE: Climate-focused banks find new ways forward with clean energy financing
You can find high-quality web and mobile experiences as well as access to nationwide ATM networks at many banks. Seek out decent savings rates and no monthly fees. And be mindful of what type of place you put your money. Banks and their not-for-profit equivalent credit unions are fully regulated and insured to protect your money, but there are also nonbank financial tech firms (or neobanks), which partner with banks to hold your money and have extra risks. For more details, check out our guide to how to choose a bank.
Skip to any certification or membership below:
- Top certifications (B Corp and GABV)
- Other environmental certifications (Fossil Free Certified, Green Business Certification and 1% for the Planet)
- Other mission-driven certifications (CDFI, CDCU, MDI and Women-Owned Bank)
Top third-party certifications
Certified B Corporation (B Corp)
- Includes fewer than 20 U.S. banks and credit unions.
These for-profit businesses pledge to uphold some of the highest standards for social and environmental practices in the way they run their businesses. Founded in 2006, the nonprofit network B Lab runs the certification program that involves foundation requirements (company operations) and impact topics (specific missions). As of 2025, the program switched from using a 200-point test to meeting minimums across the seven impact topics: Purpose and stakeholder governance; climate action; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; government affairs and collective action; fair work; human rights; and environmental stewardship and circularity.
Of the 6,000 Certified B Corps worldwide, only a handful are U.S. banks. Every B Corp has a legal obligation to consider the impact of their decisions, including social and environmental factors, which protects their mission-driven identity from changes in leadership and pressure from shareholders solely focused on profit.
An impact assessment captures a company’s positive impacts, while background checks, additional questionnaires, and public complaint processes are involved to capture the negative impacts. On-site audits and requirements for the initial year, third year, and fifth year apply. Several practices to help meet certification include paying all workers a living wage, having a diverse board of directors and focusing on services (and for banks, lending) that create renewable energy.
Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV member)
- Includes fewer than 20 U.S. banks and credit unions.
Founded in 2009, this independent network of more than 70 banks worldwide, roughly a third in the U.S., seeks to drive positive change through banking. Member banks must be regulated directly by their government, have a minimum of $50 million in assets, transparency in reporting their business practices, and follow six core principles: a triple bottom line (supporting the planet, people and profit), serving the real economy (versus the financial economy), being client-centered, maintaining long-term resiliency, having transparency (in governance) and a culture that promotes the bank’s social and environmental values.
Membership into the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, or GABV, involves a scorecard that captures the organization’s values. With the smaller size of this network, there are also annual meetings and member-led initiatives such as the 2025 launch of an academic network across several European universities as well as continued implementation of strong carbon accounting as part of member banks’ disclosures.
🤓Nerdy Tip
If your next bank’s environmental and social impact are equally important to you, skip down to our shortlist of 19 institutions that fit this criteria.Other environmental certifications
Fossil Free Certified
- Includes approximately 50 U.S. banks, credit unions and fintechs.
Starting in February 2022, the not-for-profit Bank Green launched the Fossil Free Certified program focused on one requirement: A bank must not finance fossil fuel companies or projects, now or in the future. Fossil fuels consist of oil, coal and natural gas, and their extraction and energy use remain the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Reducing emissions is necessary to minimize climate risks and damages worldwide, according to the United Nations 2025 report. The Bank Green program is run by a small team of volunteers with backgrounds ranging from climate activism to tech.
Green America’s Green Business Certification
- Includes fewer than five U.S. banks and credit unions.
Since 1982, the national not-for-profit Green America has built a green network of small businesses. Green America defines “green” to mean a focus on social justice and environmental responsibility. Certification requires submitting an industry-specific assessment, and eligibility includes companies at least four months old that fulfill a host of requirements.
Specific to banks and credit unions, eligibility involves about 30 requirements across four categories: company (business practices), company employment (fair worker wages and benefits), education (truthful marketing) and sustainable facilities. Under the company category, banks must have clear policies around where customers’ money may or may not be invested. Any banks that fund certain industries, including but not limited to weapons and fossil fuels such as gas, oil and coal, aren’t eligible for certification.
1% for the Planet
- Includes fewer than five U.S. banks, credit unions and fintechs.
Established in 2002, this global movement makes member businesses and nonprofits commit to giving the equivalent of 1% of total annual sales to environmental nonprofits. Some of the 1% can come from pro-bono professional services and volunteering. The environmental nonprofits must be approved by 1% for the Planet. There’s flexibility in the form of contributions, and membership can exist at the company, brand or product level, which might make it hard to know a company’s full level of commitment.
Other mission-driven designations
Most banks and credit unions that are committed to some social and economic values, though generally not explicitly environmental causes, become one of the following:
Community development financial institution (CDFI)
- Includes more than 550 U.S. banks and credit unions.
CDFIs provide affordable banking and credit services to people in economically underserved areas and communities of color, including loans for home buyers and small businesses. Started in the mid-1990s, the federal program is managed by the CDFI Fund, which is part of the U.S. Treasury. The network includes more than 1,200 banks and credit unions as well as loan and venture capital funds nationwide that share the goal of economic development. Certified CDFIs can be eligible for various awards to help them grow.
» Learn more about CDFIs
Community development credit union
- Includes more than 400 U.S. credit unions.
Established two decades before the CDFI program, the not-for-profit Inclusiv built a network and the criteria for supporting underserved communities. Its network of community development credit unions, or CDCUs, have similar missions to CDFIs, and in fact, credit unions can be both. CDCUs specialize in fairly priced loans to people with limited credit history, financial coaching and general banking services.
Minority depository institution
- Includes more than 150 U.S. banks and more than 440 credit unions.
Both within and outside the CDFI network, minority-owned or -led banks and credit unions support communities of color with a focus on closing the racial wealth gaps in America. The four main communities that MDIs focus on are Black, Asian American, Native American, and Hispanic Americans. Black-owned banks, in particular, have been in the spotlight in the past decade thanks to the Black Lives Matter and Bank Black movements. See our list of Black-owned banks.
Banks that are MDIs must be either minority-owned or minority-led, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Both types serve their communities. Minority-owned means more than 50% of a bank’s voting stock belongs to a specific minority group. Minority-led means the bank predominantly serves a specific minority and at least half the bank’s board of directors identifies as part of that minority group.
Credit unions must self-report as MDIs and have more than 50% people of color as members, current board members and the community being served, according to the National Credit Union Administration. The NCUA uses a different definition than the FDIC, its banking agency counterpart, because credit unions are not-for-profit and member-owned.
Women-owned bank
- Includes fewer than 20 U.S. banks.
In 2021, the Federal Reserve expanded its definition of MDIs to include women-owned financial institutions, and another regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) maintains a list of women-owned banks. Women-owned banks have a majority of ownership or revenue held by at least one woman, and senior management positions are largely held by women. These banks help address the historical exclusion of women from the industry. In addition to gender pay and wealth gaps, women face more financial barriers when running a business and getting loans compared with men.
Big banks fund good and harmful causes
Although the biggest U.S. banks have given billions to charity and financed billions in renewable energy initiatives, they remain some of the biggest contributors to the fossil fuel industry. The four largest banks alone have financed an estimated $1.8 trillion to fossil fuel companies and projects from 2016 to 2025, based on an analysis of a 2021 report and 2026 report by nonprofits including the Sierra Club and Rainforest Action Network. You can see if your bank contributes to fossil fuel funding through such reports as well as on BankTrack.org.
Click on the links to see our NerdWallet review of the institution, if available. (Whether an institution was reviewed by NerdWallet didn’t impact its inclusion on either list.)
Our shortlist
Each institution is either a certified B Corp, member of the GABV, or both. These are the two most rigorous impact-focused certifications.
- Androscoggin Bank
- Beneficial State Bank
- Brattleboro Savings & Loan
- City First Bank
- Clean Energy Credit Union
- Clearwater Credit Union
- Credit Human
- EastRise Credit Union
- Martha's Vineyard Bank
- Mascoma Bank
- Piscataqua Savings Bank
- Southern Bancorp, Inc.
- Spring Bank
- Summit Credit Union
- Sunrise Banks
- Verity Credit Union
- Walden Mutual
Our longlist
Each institution has at least one environment-related certification: B Corp, GABV, Fossil Free Certified, Green America Certified, or 1% for the Planet.
- Androscoggin Bank
- Beneficial State Bank
- Brattleboro Savings & Loan
- City First Bank
- Clean Energy Credit Union
- Clearwater Credit Union
- Credit Human
- EastRise Credit Union
- Martha's Vineyard Bank
- Mascoma Bank
- Piscataqua Savings Bank
- Southern Bancorp, Inc.
- Spring Bank
- Summit Credit Union
- Sunrise Banks
- Verity Credit Union
- Walden Mutual
More resources
- For the broadest community and/or mission-driven categories, see NerdWallet’s list of CDFIs and Inclusiv’s list of CDCUs.
- For other environmental certification lists, see Bank.Green’s fossil free certified search tool, 1% for the Planet’s directory, and Green America’s Green Business Network member directory.
- For other community-focused designations, see the minority depository institution lists at specific government regulators, including the FDIC (banks), NCUA (credit unions) and OCC (women-owned banks).
