How far is ABN AMRO along the road to Paris?

In the report 'Guiding a bank's portfolio to Paris', you can read how we’re combating climate change in our own business and together with our clients. The articles in the report demonstrate the measuring techniques we use, where we stand, and what goals we’ve set in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. They explain what we’ve done so far and what challenges still lie ahead.

You can read about the initiatives we are working on with our clients around climate change, such as homeowners who have a mortgage with us, for example. Providing clients with information about and financing energy-saving solutions like insulation and sustainable heating and energy for these homes can contribute significantly to an overall reduction in carbonemissions.

The aim of our Mission 2030 is for all the real estate we finance to score an average ‘A’ energy label. We are now helping mortgage clients by showing them what energy-saving measures they can take, calculating the costs and possible returns, and pointing them to the subsidies available. We also help commercial clients make their business premises more sustainable.

On top of that, we’re taking bigger and bigger steps in the field of renewable energy. At the end of 2020, 21 percent of the bank's energy portfolio consisted of renewable energy, and we want to increase this to 45 percent in 2024. And our clients are increasingly investing sustainably, with the volume of these investments exceeding 26 billion euros at the end of2020. At the same time we’re working to make our own operations more sustainable by consistently reducing emissions from buildings and travel.

Measure to manage

But are we on track to achieve the Paris climate goals? To find out for sure, ABN AMRO is helping to develop measuring techniques that can tell financial institutions whether they and their clients are on track and on time.

To this end we entered into a partnership in 2018 with the Science Based Targets initiative for Financial Institutions. The initiative encourages financial institutions to set measurable targets to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, as agreed in the Paris Climate Agreement.

Jan Raes, a Global Sustainability Advisor at ABN AMRO, is enthusiastic about the partnership: "Financial institutions, including ABN AMRO, can use this approach to measure how their lending and investment portfolios contribute towards global climate goals. It helps us determine how we can best achieve those goals, working with our clients, and which actionsand commitments are necessary to make that happen."

“We’re not just keeping this record of our efforts for ourselves – we’re doing it first and foremost for the organisations and institutions around us. All other organisations in the financial sector are free to adopt the lessons learned, methods and measuring systems described (right-to-copy).”

Download the publication