Vancity invites members to join Global Climate Strike activities; creates climate-focused internship

September 23, 2019

Vancity supports youth in our communities who are demanding action on climate change. On Friday, September 27, Vancity employees will attend the Global Climate Strike at Vancouver City Hall. The credit union is encouraging Vancity members who are able to join the event – as well as the event in Victoria, at the B.C. Legislature – to come and show their support.

Recognizing that climate change is an unprecedented issue, Vancity will conduct a partial shutdown within many areas of the organization on Friday afternoon, allowing as many staff as possible to show their support. To meet the ongoing and important needs of its members, Vancity will keep branches and call centres open throughout this time, meaning all services will be available as normal.

“Climate change is an urgent issue that demands immediate action. Vancity stands together with youth who are calling for a more socially just and environmentally sustainable future,” says Vancity Chief Member Services Officer Christine Bergeron.

Throughout the week of September 23, Vancity staff will show their support in a variety of other ways. Many will wear pins in the shape of a green circle, the symbol of the youth climate action movement.

New internship program supports youth seeking climate action

And as part of its ongoing work to address climate change – and to support the youth who are taking global action – Vancity will also soon introduce a new climate-focused internship.

“We believe all of us must work hard to include new voices and new ideas into the conversation as we work towards addressing climate change. By creating a climate-focused youth internship, Vancity is inviting these voices to the table and working to embed the calls to action from the global youth movement into our organization” says Christine.

In October, Vancity will start taking applications for a four-month internship, which will begin in January, 2020. The successful intern will work directly with Vancity’s community investment team to identify how the organization can continue to support climate action work in the community.

The new internship is part of Vancity’s ongoing support for local youth-led and youth-focused projects to create the solutions required to address climate change. This year, the credit union has supported: Be the Change Earth Alliance; The 3% Project; Ocean Ambassadors Canada; and the UBC Climate Hub.

Collaborating to measure carbon emissions

Vancity is also part of a global effort among banking institutions to track and monitor the carbon impact of their portfolio of loans and investments. That initiative, called the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, officially launched in New York on Monday with an announcement that more than 50 financial institutions worldwide have now committed to assess and disclose the GHG emissions of their loans and investments. Measuring the carbon impact of loans and investments will help financial institutions like Vancity to disclose more information, and to make better-informed decisions about how to allocate capital to help address climate change.

Read more about Vancity’s leadership in environmental sustainability here.