La Banque Postale has said that it is the first traditional bank in France to launch an “impact” bank card where deposits will be used to finance the energy renovation of housing.

The French bank, which is partnering with WWF France on the card, will donate the entire additional annual card fee to the charity, enabling it to work on projects to protect and restore biodiversity.

La Banque Postale said that in France, greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector account for around a quarter of the country’s emissions.

There are also 4.8 million thermal leaks in France out of the country's 21 million main residences.

Money deposited in current accounts associated with the impact card will be used to grant loans to individual customers who are planning to buy and renovate old property, making it energy efficient and reducing the carbon footprint.

Customers using the card will also receive advice to help reduce their consumption and free access to tools including Carbo, a carbon footprint simulator that works by analysing bank spending, and the cashback programme, which offers a selection of offers linked to responsible consumption.

According to the bank’s research, 60 per cent of 18-34 year-olds said they would be prepared to pay more for an impact bank card than for a standard card.

“The launch of this impact card, developed jointly with our partner WWF France, is a new milestone in La Banque Postale's strategy for of a just transition,” said Vincent Menvielle, marketing director at La Banque Postale. “It enables our customers to act in favour of the energy transition, by allocating their deposits to the financing of our impact real estate loans, and to support an NGO deploying biodiversity projects.”

---