Operating out of Geelong, Victoria, AWA Alliance Bank first certified in September 2018. AWA is member owned, and focus on providing friendly, personal customer service and building real relationships with their members. They give back to the communities they live in through community based programs.
Steve Jackson, Marketing Manager shares a little bit more about why AWA Alliance Bank has been recognised as being Best For The World 2019 in Governance.
1. What makes your company Best For The World?
We are a bank with a vision to significantly contribute to an improved and sustainable future for our members and local communities. Our mission is to empower members and communities to improve their financial well being.
2. What makes you stand out from other companies?
AWA is a bank that has been making a difference for 50 years. We are a social enterprise which sees us stand out from other banks. We share our profits with our communities to bring about positive social change.
We can do everything the major banks do only we do it with a social conscience. We provide financial services in our local communities that contribute to an improved sustainable future for all.
Our members are a part of something bigger, not part of something big. Banking in this way is more than a financial choice, it’s a social one.
3. How do you plan to celebrate?
By simply sharing the message to help the movement snowball. We believe B Corp’s concepts are especially needed in the financial industry! Because we believe, if all banks acted this way, there would be no problem we couldn’t solve!
4. Part of being “Best for the World” is striving to always use your business as a force for good. What initiatives do you have planned for the coming year to continue to be Best for the World?
Our success has enabled us to develop a community partnership model to support local community organisations (partner) in the delivery of enhanced infrastructure and facilities. For example, we have been able to facilitate the building of basketball courts and cricket facilities to meet community demand. We also support 3 organisations in address social disadvantage such as homelessness and unemployment. The model benefits the communities and makes the partner more sustainable.
Over the next 3 years we have committed to expanding these contributions to fulfil our social enterprise ethos of using profit for purpose.
5. What advice do you have for other B Corps and purpose-led businesses that want to improve their impact?
It’s key to have a goal on what positive impact you can achieve and be able to measure it accurately.
B Corp is a global movement, so it’s easy to look at what other people are doing and how they have achieved positive outcomes so you can in turn, improve your own impact.
