Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
United Heritage Credit Union believes in sustainable strategies that support environmentally friendly, socially responsible & transparent equality focused governance while preserving effective cost management as well as a strong emphasis on net income. While United Heritage works to support our ESG standing, we must keep in mind that investments which may be common in other classifications of financial institutions are not found here at UHCU per regulation.In everything we do, we always operate with uncompromising ethics and the highest levels of integrity. We believe in exemplifying a strong corporate responsibility through the following framework.
I. Environmental
We have a strong commitment and responsibility to the communities that we serve and the world as a whole. We are committed to making choices that are smart and sustainable. United Heritage has taken steps to support our environment through recycling, minimization of waste, water conservation through drought-tolerant landscaping as well as electric vehicle charging availability. UHCU continues to explore opportunities for being a more environmentally friendly organization.
Keeping our minds focused on climate and our impact on the planet is good for UHCU while allowing us to improve the world around us. We actively make decisions to ensure that our business choices make a positive impact on our climate in general, emissions, water conservation, overall energy efficiency and waste management.
We have actively made the following updates or additions in the name of improving our environmental impact: charging station install, updating our AC units with more efficient units, replacing thermostats with programmable thermostats as well as reducing print materials by updating print materials to be digital first including a digital only annual report, electronic loan docs/signatures and QR code accessible materials decreasing our printing by 10s of thousands of pieces of paper per year.
II. Social
We strive to go above and beyond to show that we’re more than just a credit union – we’re a positive force in our community. United Heritage Credit Union is fortunate that our team is passionate about what we do and takes pride in working to improve the Texas communities in which we live and work. We believe in and seek to promote United Heritage’s socially responsible business practices through high overall stakeholder satisfaction while protecting data and privacy. United Heritage recognizes the need to have a high systemic level of well-being for all people with the protection of the innate dignity of every human being. We support diversity by recognizing and valuing the unique pasts, viewpoints, and norms that we all bring to form our society. We recognize that equality needs to be of paramount importance to a healthy society and strive to protect our communal well-being. As a financial institution, we have a strong role to play in striving to make a better world and to drive toward standards of equality for all. It is important for us not only as a financial institution but a credit union to keep the philosophy of people helping people as our guiding light in what we do every day. Our position in society allows us to address these social issues and seek to provide strong and fair community relations, support human rights, labor standards, and so much more.
We actively take part in improving the communities that we serve by making donations through the United Heritage Charity Foundation. In 2022 the Foundation revised the plan amplifying the good it does through a structured change that amplified its impact by partnering with four local charities that align with its pillars of Human Services, Healthcare, Education, Family & Children as well as Military & Veteran Assistance. We also open up additional funds for Credit Union employees to present opportunities for the Foundation to make additional donations. In total, donations through the Foundation have exceeded $2,224,315.60. The Charity Foundation's top priority is contributing to deserving organizations that positively impact Central and East Texas to make a difference in people’s lives.
At United Heritage, we believe that people matter most. We've built a culture that inspires, challenges, and empowers our team members to go above and beyond. The personal approach we take in our banking services extends to our team members. We're personally invested in the well-being and job satisfaction of all UHCU employees. Our entire team – from our Board of Directors and CEO to our Member Service Reps – are empowered to deliver our personalized approach to providing solutions for the financial success of our members. We’ve taken action to improve our employee engagement through the launch of initiatives including the Employee Birthday Program, weekly lunches, our Brand store, an improved Onboarding Program and a monthly internal newsletter (Quick Bytes) that all work to connect our employees internally which flows through to our social commitment to our surrounding communities by ensuring that all UHCU employees feel engaged in everything they do.
III. Governance
We actively monitor our responsible growth by being aware of our board composition, dual controlled audit and regulatory oversight, and competitive / equal compensation as we continue to improve our controlled impact on the planet through our thoughtful governance directions.