RCI Bank has today revealed the success of its inaugural green savings account which, in its first year, has seen over 2,000 UK savers help stop more than 6,411,723 kg of CO2 vehicle emissions being released into the atmosphere. Achieving that level of CO2 reduction would require the planting of 256,469 mature trees.

The E-Volve Savings 14 Day Notice Account uses savers’ money to fund loans that help people buy or hire Electric Vehicles (EVs). The interest on the loan is then shared with the savers via their rates. Funding from E-Volve accounts helped put over 8,500 Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf electric vehicles on the road.

The independently developed carbon accounting methodology used reveals that in 2022, each EV financed by the E-Volve account, contribute only 21% of the CO2 per km of a typical petrol or diesel car when driven. This is primarily down to on the carbon intensity of 0.193 CO2 kg/kWh to produce electricity in the UK and used to power an EV.

Tafari Smith, Head of Savings at RCI Bank comments: “It is fantastic to see that our E-Volve account has helped facilitate the reduction of 6,411,723 kg in CO2 vehicle emissions.  Its success is making tangible progress in the energy transition by making EVs a more accessible choice for many. The E-Volve account makes it easy for savers to make green decisions and, in doing so, drive real change.

“Our ambition remains that the RCI Bank E-Volve Savings 14 Day Notice account will develop into a suite of green products designed to support the switch to zero carbon emission vehicles even further, futureproofing the planet for generations to come.”

RCI Bank has also partnered with reforestation platform Tree-Nation, as a further commitment to enabling customers to be greener with their finances. To celebrate the one year anniversary of the E-Volve Saver RCI Bank offered customers of the E-Volve Saver a chance to plant a tree through their partnership with Tree Nation. RCI Bank were able to plant 572 trees for the Reforest the Mata Atlântica project in Brazil on behalf of the E-Volve Saver customers.