A new study from Imperial College Business School’s Centre for Climate Finance & Investment (CCFI) has rated financial institutions on their climate commitments and actions, awarding a ‘gold standard’ to only nine out of the 50 entities it assessed. The gold standard recipients were Danske Bank, Handelsbanken, La Banque Postale, ABP, Akademiker Pension, Ircantec, New York City Retirement Systems, Generation IM and Sarasin & Partners. The study scored the companies on the basis of principles set by the UN’s Race to Net Zero Campaign and the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 roadmap, assessing whether they had explicit policies on eradicating financing for fossil fuel expansion and investment from their operations, as well as the extent to which they had accomplished sustainability goals. “The landmark Paris Agreement has prompted financial market participants to rethink climate risk and opportunities,” said Dr. Iva Koci, Research Associate at the CCFI, and one of the report’s lead authors. “Financial institutions increasingly recognise their pivotal role in facilitating the comprehensive transition to a net-zero economy.” The inaugural scorecard was designed to set an industry standard for driving sustainable change across the financial services sector, the study mentioned.
