500 Financial Institutions Unite For Decarbonisation

The global financial sector is working towards decarbonisation – but not just as individuals.
More than 500 companies – including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BNP Paribas and Bank of America – have signed the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), signalling the industry-wide shift towards prioritising sustainability.
“Reaching 500 signatories is not simply an enormous achievement for PCAF but reflects the momentum building across the global financial sector towards a more sustainable and lower carbon economy.”
By being a signatory, companies proactively commit to enhancing transparency and consistency in sustainability reporting and gain access to support in areas including implementing PCAF’s Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry and carbon accounting.
The list reads like a who’s-who of the financial sector, signalling an exciting movement for sustainability – specifically GHG accounting to track and reduce carbon emissions – in the industry.
“PCAF has reached 500 signatories through inclusive growth, ensuring that all types of financial institutions and regions are playing a role in growing a financial ecosystem for climate action,” celebrates Ivan Frishberg, Chief Sustainability Officer for Amalgamated Bank and PCAF President.
“The breadth, diversity and depth of PCAF’s signatories reflects our mission to create a harmonised and consistent reporting standard for the financial sector.
“Reaching 500 signatories is not simply an enormous achievement for PCAF but reflects the momentum building across the global financial sector towards a more sustainable and lower carbon economy.”
What is the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials?
Known as PCAF, the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials is a global industry-led initiative made up of financial institutions committed to measuring and disclosing the carbon emissions associated with their financial activities.
The initiative spans six continents and 70 countries and includes both the largest financial organisations in the world – Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, HSBC and Royal Bank of Canada to name a few – and small, regional financial institutions in emerging markets, with a goal to enable all players in the financial sector to begin the journey to the low carbon economy.
“When we set out our ambition to align our financed emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner, in line with the Paris Agreement goals, we committed to work in partnership with our peers to enable the financial system to collectively tackle climate change,” Daniel Klier, Global Head of Sustainable Finance, HSBC, said upon HSBC joining PCAF in 2021. Daniel has since become CEO of South Pole, a leading carbon project expert and climate consultancy.
“Clear and consistent data and reporting are critical to enable banks like HSBC to set targets and track progress as they work towards ambitious net zero goals. We are therefore delighted to be joining PCAF to improve our ability to measure and disclose our financed emissions as we work to achieve our net zero ambition.”
PCAF’s Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry
A key element of PCAF is its Standard, now the most widely used methodology for measuring and reporting financed emissions globally. It is officially embedded by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) into its financial sector recommendations.
The Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry was created and launched in 2020, with Part A and Part C addressing insurance-associated emissions and Part B dedicated to measuring and reporting the GHG emissions associated with capital market transactions.
“The adoption of the PCAF Standard by financial institutions from right across the spectrum of the global industry demonstrates its relevance to the market,” says Angélica Afanador, Executive Director of PCAF.
“As investors and stakeholders demand greater transparency and accountability from financial institutions in terms of understanding the emissions associated with their financial activity, we are committed to championing further progress. I hope that this milestone serves as an inspiration to boost support to the global financial industry during this period of transition and to our 500+ signatories in their ongoing decarbonisation journeys.”
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