Corporate Practices
We believe that our role is not only to support great businesses and nonprofits in the work that they are doing, but also to “walk the walk” by adopting leading sustainable and socially responsible internal business practices.
Green on the Inside
We strive to green certify all of our bank locations, where certification is available.
Beneficial State employees actively engage in education and action campaigns to reduce waste and energy usage reduction at work and home. In the past, staff have participated in the Eco-Challenge by Northwest Earth Institute, helping us implement new behaviors to reduce waste, energy and water usage, and introduced internal events and initiatives to promote environmental sustainability.
Beneficial State also has our very own Green Team, which is an employee-led culture committee that drives our internal sustainability efforts. Learn more about the Green Team and other culture committees below!
Our Seattle Financial Hub at the Bullitt Center
In 2020, Beneficial State Bank reaffirms our commitment to sustainability by opening a new financial center in Seattle’s Bullitt Center, the “greenest commercial building in the world.” The 6-story, 50,000 sq. ft. building is the first urban mid-rise commercial project to meet the rigorous goals of the Living Building Challenge, the most ambitious benchmark of sustainability in the built environment. The Bullitt Center embodies our approach to rebuilding the environment and negating social injustices with our lending practices.
MEASURING AND DECREASING OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Since 2014, we have been measuring the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to our operations. This includes energy and water use, waste generation, supply purchases, employee commutes, and more. With this information, we implement policies and procedures to reduce our emissions.
We have reduced our emissions (per full-time equivalent staff) every year except 2016, when we merged with another bank; the merger resulted in 8 additional branches and an increase in staff size by 250%.
We engage Ecoshift Consulting, an independent third-party firm to track and provide a sustainability report that fully assess our operational carbon impact and identifies opportunities to reduce our resource consumption, GHG emissions and waste. Their findings inform how many carbon allowances we purchase in order to fulfill our commitment to being carbon neutral.
Every year, we purchase carbon allowances for the equivalent of our carbon footprint from the prior year. In 2020, this footprint totaled 429.5 metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
We purchased carbon allowances in this amount from Carbon Lighthouse and Forterra’s Carbon Capture Program. With Forterra, our allowance purchase supports positive local impact through reforestation efforts in our Puget Sound communities. With Carbon Lighthouse, our allowance purchase from regional carbon markets reduces the finite supply of available allowances that utilities, power plants, and other regulated entities can obtain – thereby encouraging further emissions reductions in a macro sense.
Measuring our carbon footprint and purchasing carbon allowances is an important tool for sustainability, but we recognize that it’s not the solution. We remain committed to measuring and paying for our emissions, while proactively finding opportunities to reduce these emissions through our internal practices and initiatives.
BENEFICIAL EMPLOYMENT
Beneficial State is made up of individuals that live and work in the communities we serve. Our team members are dedicated to strengthening our communities through beneficial banking services delivered in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner. Click on each policy to learn more details.
Living Wage Policy
Living Wage Policy
We are committed to paying employees a minimum of 150% of the area Living Wage for a single adult household, as calculated by MIT. If Living Wage in an area is below $15 per hour, we increase the minimum to at least $15 per hour. It’s our 150% | $15 pledge.
Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
We are committed to gender and ethnic diversity and equity within our workforce, with a workforce that is as ethnically and racially diverse as the community, region, or state we serve. This includes offering the same opportunities for recruitment, hiring, training, promotion for all levels, including senior leadership, executive and board positions.
Beneficial State Bank: Staff & Board Diversity (2020)
| Female* | Person of Color* | |
| Full Time Staff | 62% | 52% |
| Board Members | 36% | 50% |
* Self-identified gender, race, and ethnicity
Volunteering
Volunteering
We believe staff volunteering is an important investment in our communities. Volunteering provides valuable community services and strengthens a community in many ways such as supporting families and youth, improving schools, and beautifying shared spaces. Beneficial State employees are given thirty-two (32) hours of paid volunteer time per calendar year for a volunteer opportunity of their own choosing.
Matching Donations
Matching Donations
We encourage staff to donate to charitable causes. All employees have the opportunity to receive up to $250 annually to match money they donate to a qualifying 501(c)(3) charitable/nonprofit organization of their choice.
EMPLOYEE-LED CULTURE COMMITTEES
Beneficial State has three culture committees whose members consist of staff and leadership. Within these committees, members work together to build work culture, implement initiatives that embrace our values, and provide ourselves with the resources to learn and grow as individuals and as a group.
Agents of Wellness
Agents of Wellness
A strong organization cannot exist without healthy, happy employees. The Agents of Wellness is focused on promoting overall well-being through four areas: physical wellness, social wellness, emotional wellness, and community wellness.
Key accomplishments to date include: healthy snacks in branches, chair massages, annual organization-wide fitness challenge, and health conscious newsletters!
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
In 2017, Beneficial State launched its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to proactively embrace diversity and promote equity and social justice within our organization and in our society at large. The committee developed objectives and common language to lay the groundwork for organization-wide training, communications, workshops on systemic oppression, and much more.
Key accomplishments to date include: inclusive welcome signs in branches; public statements and celebrations; organization-wide enrichment sessions on topics such as the Model Minority Myth, Gender Identity Inclusiveness, and Understanding and Interpreting Implicit Bias
Green Team
Green Team
The Green Team drives our internal sustainability efforts. The Green Team has a mission to 1) reduce our consumption of energy, natural resources, and materials; and 2) reduce contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, air and water pollution, and landfills.
Key accomplishments to date include: Green Business Certification, Earth Day branch celebrations, organization-wide waste reduction campaigns, and environmentally-focused quizzes and challenges.
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY
From day one, Beneficial State has been committed to supporting our community above and beyond its mission-driven lending by providing sponsorships to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations each year.
Historically we have provided the equivalent of 5-10% or more of Beneficial State Bank’s profits. That’s five to ten times the U.S. average corporate giving of less than 1% (.91%). In 2020, we provided $427,850 in sponsorships to 230 community organizations.
$4,566
Matching Donations
to environmental, social justice, and community nonprofits (2020)
2,088
Volunteer Hours
by our employees (2020)
COMMUNITY SPACE FOR GOOD
As the real estate affordability crisis continues in the areas we serve, more nonprofits and social impact businesses are experiencing difficulty finding physical space to operate in. We support these nonprofits and social impact businesses by offering our branch and office space free of charge for events, board meetings, trainings, and more.
Some organizations and events that we have supported include:
- B Corp Local Bay Area gatherings to foster local community business development and the growth of the B Corp network
- Retreats, conferences, and staff meetings for organizations such as Youth Radio, a national network of young journalists and artists and Greenlining Institute, a policy, research, organizing, and leadership development institute for racial and economic justice.
- Board of directors’ meetings for organizations such as Latino Community Foundation and SupplyBank.org. Latino Community Foundation invests in Latino-led organizations and increases the civic participation of Latino people in California. SupplyBank.org partners with hundreds of agencies to deliver critical supplies such as diapers, school supplies, hygiene supplies, etc. to people in need.
- A symposium on work and capitalism by Pro Arts Gallery in Oakland.
