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==History and purpose==
The initial vision was to set up a building society that specialised in properties that conveyed an ecological benefit in terms of construction, use of land or lifestyle. The idea wasfirst sparkedappeared at a [[Green Party of England and Wales|Green Party]] Conference, following the experience of a Yorkshire solicitor, David Pedley, who had great difficulty in finding anyone willing to give him a mortgage on a property needing extensive renovation. Ecology was founded by ten initial supporters who each invested £500, raising the £5000 capital which was the minimum required to start a building society at that time. Between 1981 and 1993 it was the smallest building society in the UK. By 2016 the society's mortgage lending had risen to £30.7 million<ref name="ebs-2016">"[https://www.ecology.co.uk/corporate-information/ Ecology Building Society Annual Review 2016]". Ecology Building Society.</ref> and its savings balances to £163.1 million.<ref name="ebs-2016" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Islamic and Ethical Finance in the United Kingdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTarBgAAQBAJ|first=Elaine|last=Housby|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2013|isbn=9780748648979|pages=73–74}}</ref>
The primary purpose of the Societysociety is to achieve the greatest degree of environmental sustainability by the application ofuse its financialfinances strengthfor asenvironmentally can[[sustainable be achieved concomitant with the legal framework that the Society is subject todevelopment]]. This is achieved by lending activity primarily to foster the creationcreate and maintenance of amaintain [[sustainable housing]] stock, where possible in the context ofwithin [[sustainable communities]], butand also to support [[green enterprise,]]. with thisThe lending programme fedis enabled by funding securedobtained with the least degree ofminimum [[environmental degradation possible,]] and with the greatest degree ofmaximum stakeholder endorsement obtainable.
Ecology Building Society were the first building society awarded the [[Fair Tax Mark]],<ref>"[https://fairtaxmark.net/ecology-building-society/ Ecology Building Society - Fair Tax Mark]". [[Fair Tax Mark]]. Accessed 1 October 2017</ref> in 2016.
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