Our progress in 2021 – towards net zero

Achievement of net zero requires more than commitments. It requires thoughtful planning, strategies and, foremost, action. As part of our ambition to achieve net zero across our operations, supply chain and financing activities by 2050, we have initiated the work required to measure our total emissions. Our ambition to achieve net zero will be underpinned by interim 2030 science-based goals across our financing activities, operations and supply chain.

To underpin our net zero ambition in relation to financing activities, we are developing interim 2030 science-based goals for each key sector and defining the corresponding transition strategies that are required to enable these goals. We work with all our business divisions and across client portfolios to develop our sector transition strategies which consist of the following three strategic levers:

• Reduction: Conducting in-depth assessment of our client portfolios against the bank’s CETF and sector policy restrictions to identify clients that do not meet these requirements and with whom we will not be engaging in future work
• Engagement: Understanding the carbon emission reduction commitments that our existing clients have made and developing an approach to engage with our clients to support them to transition to net zero
• Growth: Working with our front-line teams, product specialists and clients to identify new areas of sustainable growth and new business opportunities with low carbon intensity.

To underpin our net zero ambition in relation to operational activities we will be developing strategies to reduce carbon emissions across data centers, facilities, office buildings, operations, and the supply chain. For further information on our operational carbon performance (see the Reducing our operational footprint section).

To deliver against our net zero commitment, we plan to significantly reduce our emissions by 2050 in line with the 1.5°C trajectory, with residual emissions offset through procurement of sufficient and verifiable carbon removals, as illustrated in the graph.