Nordic bank Glitnir has unveiled a new savings account in Norway and Iceland that is designed to help the environment.
The Save&Save account offers a high rate of interest to customers, whilst at the same time generating capital for a new global environmental fund. The fund’s objective is to support international projects for the environment, and will focus on two main areas; sustainable energy and the sustainable seafood industry.
The environmental savings account will initially be offered in Glitnir’s two main markets of Iceland and Norway, but will be rolled out in other countries in the future.
Each year Glitnir will pay a minimum of 0.1% of total funds in customer accounts to the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund. The Nordic bank expects the fund to play a key role in financing research and development in sustainable energy and the sustainable seafood industry – the bank’s two main areas of expertise.
The fund is expected to accumulate up to 4 million euros within a few years, thus becoming one of the largest private funds supporting research into sustainable development.
“Glitnir Bank wants to play its part as a creative force in our planet’s future development by generating resources for the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund”, said CEO Larus Welding.
Glitnir has already allocated an initial 205,000 euros to the fund and expects the fund to grow rapidly as the deposit account is launched in other markets.
The fund’s Board of Directors will include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Johann Olav Koss, CEO of Right To Play and Kristin Ingolfsdottir, Dean of the University of Iceland together with Norwegian philanthropists Grete and Jack Waitz.
“I am delighted and privileged to be on the Board of the Glitnir Globe Sustainable Future Fund. I am looking forward to working with Glitnir on this initiative”, said Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, who received the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf on the IPCC together with Al Gore in 2007.
More information on Glitnir’s environmental savings account can be found at: www.saveandsave.com