Unity Trust Bank named winner of Excellence in Responsible Business

Published: March 8, 2022

We are delighted to announce that Unity Trust Bank was named as the winner of ‘Excellence in Responsible Business’ at the 2022 Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Awards.

It was one of 12 accolades that were presented to the region’s business community at the annual dinner and awards ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham on Friday, March 4.

More than 1,300 guests attended the Chamber of Commerce Awards and heard keynote speeches from Henrietta Brealey, CEO of GBCC and Deborah Leary OBE, Senior Vice-President of GBCC, as well as remarks from Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands.

Deborah Hazell, CEO of Unity Trust Bank, said: “We are incredibly proud to have won this award. Our safe, sustainable growth and responsible lending demonstrates the positive role that banking can have in society.

“Our vision is to become the bank of choice for all socially-minded organisations and this award is testament to our commitment to helping organisations to prosper and contribute to positive economic, social and environmental change.”

It is the second award Unity has won in recent months, having been named ‘Socially Responsible Lender of the Year’ in the NACFB annual awards in November.

Unity was also proud to sponsor the Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Excellence in the Third Sector’ category, which was won by Millennium Point.

Deborah added: “We chose to sponsor this award as it is aligned with our mission to help create a better society and we congratulate Millennium Point and all of the businesses that were shortlisted in this category.

“Congratulations to GBCC too for organising such a brilliant event to celebrate the achievements of local businesses.”

Headquartered in Brindleyplace, Unity is an independent bank that only lends to organisations that share its values and support local communities.

More about Unity Trust Bank:

• Our business impact framework is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – a blueprint to ensure a better future for everyone
• All of our customer loans are assessed on the positive impact they have on society; from job creation and educational training to health care provision and social housing
• We also ensure that our values are embedded in the heart of our company culture and incorporated into our procurement and supplier management processes
• We actively measure and analyse our carbon and environmental impact and hold a Bronze Standard Carbon Literacy accreditation.
• We’re proud to have signed the Time to Change pledge, be a signatory of the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter, hold the Investors in People Gold Standard and be a Disability Confident employer
• We were the first bank to be accredited as a Living Wage Employer and the first to achieve the Fair Tax Mark
• We offer our employees up to five days’ paid leave every year to support local organisations and our employee-led ‘Unity in the Community’ initiative raises thousands of pounds for good causes every year