Partnering for Progress
Virgin Money is a UK-based financial institution offering a wide range of services, from personal loans and mortgages to business accounts and insurance. Founded by Richard Branson in 1995, its mission is to “make people happier about money” and today, that mission includes embedding ESG principles across the organisation. Virgin Money is committed to helping their customers consider the larger environment in which they operate and how to continue to achieve through sustainable growth plans, in order to ensure they are better equipped in the transition to a more sustainable future.In order to bring this vision to life, Virgin Money has forged a long-standing partnership with Future-Fit Foundation, playing a pivotal role in the transformation of their sustainability strategy. At the heart of this collaboration is a shared commitment to supporting both the bank and its business customers on their journey to becoming more regenerative and resilient.
Creating Tools for Transformation with the FFBB
The partnership led to the co-creation of Virgin Money’s own Sustainable Business Coach (SBC) – a smartphone app based on our very own Future-Fit Sustainable Business Coach tool, as part of the Future-Fit Business Benchmark (FFBB). The SBC supports SMEs and provides results and guidance towards sustainability objectives, highlighting areas that require more immediate attention, enabling businesses to assess and improve their environmental and social performance. Once a business has completed Virgin Money’s SBC, they then become self-certified at the ‘Engaged’ level of the Future-Fit ‘System Changer’ (link) programme. Crucially, the SBC forms the basis for Virgin Money’s sustainability-linked loans, a pioneering initiative that ties finance to measurable impact.
Future-Fit Educational Collab – Virgin Money Future Fit Fundamentals
Building on the success of the SBC, Virgin Money continued to partner with Future-Fit Foundation in the co-development of ‘Future-Fit Fundamentals’ – an internal educational programme – to further embed Future-Fit thinking into its own culture. This is an entry-level accreditation designed specifically to equip Virgin Money colleagues with the knowledge and additional confidence when engaging with customers on sustainable decision-making and consider how this links with the Future-Fit Business Benchmark methodology, the Sustainable Business Coach and responsible lending.
