Shifting the financial system: accelerating sustainable finance at banks
Insights for banks and banking professionals leading climate action
What does ambition look like for sustainable banking today? What else can banks do to lead an accelerated and just climate transition? And what practices can banking professionals employ to overcome barriers and harness opportunities?
Drawing from invaluable insights from banking professionals, The Finance Innovation Lab and the Climate Safe Learning Network have published “Shifting the financial system: accelerating sustainable finance at banks” which explores these questions and presents broad ranging recommendations to accelerate meaningful climate action across the banking sector.
The report features insider perspectives from major banks worldwide, including from the 2023 Climate Safe Lending Fellowship programme and survey results from a wider banking community. Amidst an increasingly complex global context, the report aims to help banking professionals navigate the path towards sustainable change.
Who should read this report?
This report is primarily intended for banking professionals who wish to contribute towards their bank’s climate action efforts - whether as part of a sustainability-related role or broader banking function. Other stakeholders, including civil society organisations and policymakers, may also derive valuable insight from the reports findings.
Dive into the report’s core themes
The report first provides an important assessment of the current status of sustainable finance in the banking sector, referencing economic and political backdrop, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pushback and greenwashing.
Three core themes are explored, covering:
Ambition gap - highlighting key factors that undermine ambition, including the prevalence of uncertainty and fear, profit-driven motives; and greenwashing.
Culture - underscoring the importance for deeper cultural transformation inside banks to further accelerate progress in sustainable finance.
People - delving into the crucial role of the individuals and teams behind the changes, emphasising the need to provide relevant representatives with appropriate investment, resource, and people management tools to successfully facilitate an internal transition.
More detailed recommendations and tools are provided related to each of these themes, as well as a sample climate risk questionnaire and guide to integration across divisions in the appendix.
Highlights of the report launch
On 19 September 2023, we launched the report with a webinar hosted by members of the Climate Safe Lending (CSL) Fellowship team, including report author Rebecca Self (Sustainable Banking Advisor and former CFO of Sustainable Finance, HSBC), Jon Dennis (Head of Climate Safe Banking Programme, Finance Innovation Lab) and Aaron Morehouse (Executive Director, Climate Safe Lending Network), and two of the 2023 Climate Safe Lending Fellows.
Are you a banking professional driving climate action?
At the end of 2021, we launched the first Climate Safe Lending Fellowship six-month leadership development programme for banking professionals advancing the climate agenda within their institutions. Since then, 40+ bankers spanning 11 countries, 29 banks and many different functional areas have participated in the Fellowship programme and continue today to drive meaningful change to shift the banking system closer to net zero.
Take Action
As we continue to shape the future of banking and finance, we invite you to be part of this journey.
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Read the report and share with your peers.
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Join the Climate Safe Learning Lab, a confidential peer-learning community for banking professionals exploring organisational climate action.
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Register your interest in future Fellowship programmes.