Five Ways CUs Are Turning Branches Green

Making credit union branches more environmentally friendly isn’t a new idea, but executing on that idea can present new challenges for credit unions. Many may wonder: Which of the world’s environmental problems should a credit union focus on? What specific branch operations should change? And what if those changes cost more money, slow things down or turn off members? Two industry pros explained some environmental choices many credit unions face today.

Deciding if and How to LEED-Certify Branches

Consultant Paul Siebert, who does market analysis, branch prototype development and real estate strategy work for credit unions, said Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification was a hot topic a few years ago.

“About 50% our clients asked for certification. The cost was between $30,000 and $50,000 more than a normal building,” he said. Today, however, public interest has largely waned except in sensitive markets such as universities and government buildings, and national building codes have evolved to embrace many LEED requirements, Siebert added. The cost of obtaining the certification itself, which can run tens of thousands of dollars, has also changed how credit unions think about the certification.

“They would get their first branch certified, with the plaque, and then they’d follow the same specifications without individual branch certification, and then still be able to truly say that they developed a building that matched this particular LEED certification,” he explained.

Building on Vacant Site or Moving Into an Existing Building

Location, size and configuration needs typically dictate whether a credit union puts a new branch on vacant land or in an existing building. But when it’s a toss-up, environmental factors often tip the scales, Siebert said.

“If it’s all equal, it would be better to get an existing building because certainly environmentally it limits the use of products and likely saves money,” he said.

“Also, the more you specify local materials, the better for the local market and limiting carbon emissions. This just adds to your environmentally friendly story,” Siebert added.

Purging Paper

Vendor changes are golden opportunities to improve a credit union’s sustainability, according to the Long Island City, N.Y.-based United Nations Federal Credit Union’s SVP of retail services, Pamela Agnone. She is also the executive sponsor of the UNFCU Global Sustainability Program, a volunteer movement with 67 staff members participating. When carbon-neutral UNFCU recently upgraded its digital banking platform and core processing platform, for example, it eliminated 27 paper forms and notifications, opting for more digital communication with members instead, she explained.

“Not only are you saving on paper, but you’re saving on postage. The member experience is that much better because they’re getting instantaneous notification as opposed to waiting for snail mail. So there’s a lot of positive outcome from looking forward using a sustainability lens,” Agnone said. UNFCU has $5.6 billion in assets and about 136,000 members.

Evaluating paper processes cut the credit union’s paper consumption by 34,000 pounds between 2015 and 2017, according to Agnone. At one point, she said, the credit union reviewed all the paper reports it was getting from its core processor. “And don’t you know, X percent aren’t even being looked at,” she said. “So right away we saved some money by just saying, you know what, either deliver these electronically or just stop saving them altogether.”

Switching from paper to electronic board election ballots also cut paper use and costs. “We ended up saving over $100,000 a year just by that one decision alone,” Agnone said.

UNFCU also reviews the sustainability standards of vendors on which it spends more than $50,000 per year.

“We have an annual survey that we send to them, and we score these surveys,” she said. “If we have a decision to make between two vendors, I won’t say that the higher-scoring vendor will win the bid, but at the margin it makes a difference for us.”

Focusing Facilities

Siebert said credit unions often can harvest two kinds of low-hanging fruit to make their branch operations more sustainable.

“I would think number one would be energy use. Number two would be the kind of products that you’re using – the bottles, paper,” he said. Examples include replacing plastic water bottles with fountains and paper cups, and moving to low-wattage light bulbs where possible.

Credit unions can also xeriscape and ensure that surface water moves through biofiltration swales, such as ditches with grass, prior to entering storm drains. “This helps remove heavy metals and slows the flow rate during storms,” he explained. “If this cannot be done, add removable filters at catch basins.”

Changes like those can also save money. UNFCU, for example, switched to LED lighting in its headquarters building, and its IT team moved away from physical servers.

“Between the lighting and the change to the virtual servers, we saw another $60,000 a year in savings,” Agnone noted. “So every decision we’ve made for sustainability has had a positive impact on the bottom line.”

Harnessing People Power

Analyzing and redirecting human behavior can also help credit unions achieve sustainability goals.

“I think the first thing that credit unions can do is step back a little bit and rather than just look toward operations, [look] at the organization holistically,” Agnone said. “What we found is when we got folks in the room who were from IT, from facilities, from lending, from the branches, it just, it all came together. I mean, we worked with a consultant as well, but I can tell you, hearts and minds weren’t won over by sustainability in and of itself.”

Modern video conferencing apps can connect people virtually, eliminating the need to drive or fly to meetings, Siebert noted. Similarly, UNFCU surveys staff annually about travel practices and has issued sustainable travel guidelines, Agnone said.

“Not policy, not ‘You shall fly this way or that way,’” she explained. “More like, do you really need to travel, or can you do a teleconference?” The credit union provides information on green hotels and sustainable travel, she added.

Paying staff members to volunteer in the community for a certain number of hours per year also reinforces expectations. “I think that’s one that is great for the staff, great for the culture and is very obvious, very direct and a good story to tell constantly,” Siebert said.

UNFCU will hold its second annual United in Sustainability Summit at United Nations headquarters in New York, N.Y. on Oct. 17, 2019. Credit unions can also join the United in Sustainability Network, is a forum for learning best practices in sustainability. To learn more about joining the United in Sustainability Network, contact UNFCU at GlobalSustainabilityProgram@UNFCU.com.