TSB has today introduced a new environmental initiative as part of its Do What Matters Plan.

Under the ‘Plant a tree’ pledge, for every home move where a TSB mortgage is provided, the bank will plant a tree to help offset the carbon footprint of the house move for the customer, with around 1,500 trees planted every month.

In partnership with eForests, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to help combat climate change and through restoring woodlands, TSB will plant a variety of species of tree in three woodlands across England, Scotland and Wales.

Nick Smith, TSB’s head of mortgages, said: “We know our customers want to reduce their carbon footprint and look for products that help them do that. This pledge offers this at no extra cost to our customers. It’s the first step of our ‘Do what matters’ plan to lower our environmental impact and help others do the same – and we look forward to doing more.”

When moving home, a typical removal lorry/large van emits up to 1.3kg carbon dioxide (CO2) per mile. For a house move that takes place over a distance of 100 miles (taking into account the journey to the old property, the move to the new property and finally the return to the depot), it totals carbon emission of 130kgs for the transport alone.

Over its lifetime (typically around 100 years) each tree will absorb on average 500kgs of CO2 – enough to offset the transport carbon footprint linked to the house move and possibly more, TSB said.

Andrew Haining, founder of eForests said: “Every day, each of us contributes to the UK’s carbon footprint through activities like moving home. We all have a part to play in protecting the planet and now TSB customers can move home knowing they’re playing their part in reducing the impact of climate change. I’m really looking forward to working with TSB to grow more trees right across the UK”.

Dame Cheryl Gillan, Vice Chair All-Party Parliamentary Group for Woods and Trees, added: “It’s encouraging to see businesses like TSB taking positive action to support and enhance the trees and woods across England, Wales and Scotland. It is important that businesses do more to reduce their impact on the environment and help support their customers to do so, and I welcome this initiative.”

This new pledge follows the announcement of TSB’s ‘Do What Matters’ responsible business strategy. The strategy focuses on helping people have more money confidence, treating small businesses fairly and helping them grow, creating a truly inclusive workplace at TSB, working locally with communities to help them thrive and reducing TSB’s impact on the environment while helping customers and partners to do the same.