Aldermore, the specialist banking group, has committed to play a key role in levelling up the UK by leading on a new set of Levelling Up Goals. The goals provide a framework for organisations to articulate their purpose and measure the social impact they are seeking to achieve. The 14 Goals provide Britain’s first levelling up framework to focus efforts on driving equality of opportunity at key life stages; and across different issues, with Aldermore leading on Goal 7: Widening access to savings and credit.
The work is co-chaired by former Cabinet Minister, Rt Hon Justine Greening, who led the UK’s efforts in shaping the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as then Secretary of State for International Development. The Levelling Up Goals now look to produce a similar approach, inspired by the SDGs, to address how outcomes can be improved throughout communities across the UK.
Rt Hon Justine Greening said: “It’s great to be working with Aldermore on the Levelling Up Goals, specifically in shaping what levelling up really means in terms of widening access to savings and credit; and increasing financial inclusion.
“The Goals give a clear architecture for purpose-led organisations to measure and articulate their purpose and impact. The challenge now is for businesses to recognise the wider role that they have to play in society and creating equality of opportunity as we recover from the pandemic.
“I’m particularly pleased to be working on this with Aldermore’s new Chief Executive, Steven Cooper, who is a passionate advocate for this agenda and a genuine purpose led leader committed to boosting social mobility and levelling up.”
The Goals are the first major piece of work launched by the most committed of these organisations, The Purpose Coalition. Aldermore has now joined as one of the Levelling Up Commissioners; helping both shape and deliver the business leadership on the levelling up agenda.
Steven Cooper, CEO of Aldermore Group, said: “Aldermore bank was established in the teeth of the financial crisis to challenge the industry to do better and open up finance to people and businesses who weren’t being looked after by the financial sector. That purpose remains and, as we have seen people’s financial circumstances become even more varied and unique over the past decade, and exacerbated after the last year, it is more vital than ever to provide widening support for them to reach their goals and potential.
“Our core purpose as a bank is to help people fulfil life’s hopes and dreams. We’re passionate advocates for social mobility and we believe the finance sector has a significant role to play in driving equal opportunity and inclusion. That’s why we’re delighted to be providing a leading role in the Levelling Up Goals that will have wide-ranging impacts across the UK.”
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1. The Levelling Up Goals have been established with input from businesses, universities, civil society, policymakers and aim to set out clear objectives for the UK's Levelling Up challenge in the wake of Covid-19. Led by Rt Hon Justine Greening, the Goals use the same framework as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, applied to the very different Levelling Up challenges facing the UK. This has set out an architecture for ‘levelling up’ for the first time, and a set of measures and metrics are now being developed in order to benchmark performance on the agenda, which will be launched over the summer.
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