Ecology Building Society is above a number of targets for the half year ended 31 July 2012.

Mortgage lending is exceeding targets, with assets reaching £75.68 million, while the mutual has seen high demand for ethical savings, with balances increasing by 3.12% to £99.14 million.

Net profit for the period was £194,000, above the Ecology’s expectations.

The building society said its gross lending of £7.26 million represents new lending to sustainable properties and projects. During this period Ecology launched a campaign to encourage homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, supported by its C-Change Retrofit scheme, which offers interest rate discounts for improvements in a home’s Energy Performance Certificate rating.

“Our continued success shows that sustainability and profitability aren’t opposed to each other – what’s good for the planet is good for business,” said Paul Ellis, the Ecology’s chief executive.

“We’re focussed on long term impact, not short term gain: growth means we can support more people to live sustainably and invest their money in line with their principles.

“The UK has the potential for a thriving green economy – not least in meeting the urgent challenge to improve the energy efficiency of our housing stock. A widespread effort to retrofit our properties could contribute to the recovery our construction sector desperately needs.”