RCI Bank has today revealed the success of its inaugural green savings account which, in its second year, has seen over 1500 UK savers help stop more than 6.7 million kg of CO2 vehicle emissions being released into the atmosphere year to date. Achieving that level of CO2 reduction would require the planting of 271,998 mature trees. Since inception, the E-Volve account has helped prevent 13.1 million kg in CO2 emissions, the equivalent of planting of 527,390 mature trees.

RCI Bank also announces that the E-Volve Savings 14 Day Notice account minimum deposit has been lowered to £100, down from £1,000 previously – making it even more accessible for people to make green savings choices.

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 74,857 Renault Zoe and Nissan Leaf electric vehicles on the road over 2022 and 2023.

The carbon accounting methodology used reveals that to date in 2023, each EV financed by the E-Volve account, contributed only 21% of the CO2 per km of a typical petrol or diesel car when driven. This is primarily down to the carbon intensity of 0.193kg/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 13,184,978 kg in CO2 vehicle emissions so far. Its success is making tangible progress in the carbon transition by making EVs a more accessible choice for many. The E-Volve account makes it easy for savers to switch to less polluting vehicle options and, in doing so, drive real change. By lowering the minimum deposit required for the account, our intention is to make sustainable saving more accessible for savers.

“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 journey to reducing CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of Renault vehicles with the aim of reaching net zero carbon** by 2040 in Europe, and 2050 worldwide – helping to futureproof the planet for generations to come.”

*The methodology is in line with the one used for RCI Banque Green Bond Impact Report and calculation of avoided emissions is solely for the usage phase of the vehicle, i.e., when being driven. Emissions avoided is calculated as the difference in CO2 emitted by our portfolio of EVs financed by deposits from E-Volve Saver accounts versus comparable petrol and diesel vehicles between January 2022 – September 2023. EV emissions factor in the average CO2 produced in UK electricity generation, so as generation becomes greener, the E-Volve Saver’s environmental performance becomes stronger.

** Achieved when the volume of greenhouse gas emissions is balanced by equivalent capture