Net Zero Finance: How financial firms can set science-based climate targets

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 1 min read

VIDEO: SBTi's Nate Aden and Schroders' Stephanie Chang chat to BusinessGreen's James Murray about how financial sector should go about setting stringent financed emissions goals

Companies right across the financial sector - from banks, investors, financial institutions and pension funds - are facing growing scrutiny over the carbon impact of not just their core business, but their entire value chains of investments, financial support and loan books.

Increasingly, financial firms are therefore under pressure to firstly measure and disclose their emissions footprint, and then to use that information to set credible targets to decarbonise their financial portfolios via independent certification schemes, such as the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which has recently launched a new net zero target standard.

Yet while deeply urgent and necessary to drive down emissions from financial portfolios over the next decade and beyond, doing so is an immensely challenging and complex process, and most of the sector is only at the beginning of the journey, if indeed it has even started.

At BusinessGreen's recent Net Zero Finance summit, which took place online in March 2022, Nate Aden, senior associate at the SBTi, and Schroders' head of ESG integration Stephanie Chang both spoke to BG editor in chief James Murry about how companies can and should start on their science-based climate target journey.

Their fascinating and resourceful conversation can be watched back in full again above.

All of the sessions from the Net Zero Finance Summit. which took place virtually in March 2022, are available to watch back on demand for delegates signed up to on demand. More details are available on the event website.

Schroders and the Science-Based Targets initiative are partners of the Net Zero Finance summit.

More on Investment

Make My Money Matter set to close down

Make My Money Matter set to close down

High profile group confirms it is to wrap up after five years of campaigning for more sustainable pensions

Holly Roach, Professional Pensions
clock 26 February 2025 • 3 min read
BP confirms fossil fuel 'reset' and deep cuts to renewables funding

BP confirms fossil fuel 'reset' and deep cuts to renewables funding

Energy giant to increase oil and gas investment to around $10bn a year, while deploying a 'very selective' approach to energy transition funding

Stuart Stone
clock 26 February 2025 • 6 min read
'Vote of confidence': CIP to invest £600m in Wales' clean energy rollout

'Vote of confidence': CIP to invest £600m in Wales' clean energy rollout

Plans from Bute Energy and Green GEN Cymru to build 10 wind farms and more than 300 kilometres of grid infrastructure in Wales have received a £600m boost

Stuart Stone
clock 26 February 2025 • 5 min read