FINANCE FOR GOOD: SUSTAINABLE BANKING
COOL TO BE KIND Could banks change from being wealth repositories to uber-forces for good, putting them on the right side of history? Yes, if they become digital lifestyle enablers that help save the planet. That’s according to our green finance round tablers as they discuss Mobiquity’s revealing Benchmark For Sustainable Banking report The heat dome over North America. Devastating floods in Europe’s Rhineland. Shrinking Alpine glaciers and polar ice caps. Wildfires ripping through communities along the US west coast. The dangers brought by climate change are clear to see and are having an impact on lives right now, not in some distant timeframe. Flipping from the main news to the business pages, we read of the reaction in the financial sector – the growth of sustainability funds, pledges to cut carbon footprints and taper out investments in fossil fuel production and other environmentally harmful activities. But how committed is the sector to tackling climate change and, equally important social, issues? ‘Digital transformation enabler’ Mobiquity asked that question of 300 banking executives in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, and concluded that too many were ‘saying, but not doing’. Its Benchmark For Sustainable Banking report found 78 per cent of British and 91
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per cent of Dutch executives recognised sustainability as an important part of a bank’s business strategy. But less than a third of banks – 31 per cent in the UK, 28 per cent in the Netherlands and 24 per cent in Germany – viewed it as a top concern at board level. This meant fewer than half of banking executives were actually planning sustainability measures across all regions. Among the reasons cited was a lack of environment, social and governance (ESG) framework from governments, on which they could build company strategy. Another hurdle was the current focus on COVID-19. Some executives also admitted their knowledge of ESG was poor.
Specifically, when it came to the environment, Mobiquity spotted a trend among UK banks for championing sustainability but relying on carbon credits to offset their impact, rather than tackling the root causes of emissions. The consultancy, which surveyed executives across the industry, from startups and challenger banks to incumbents, concluded that banks were guilty of greenwashing – making claims www.fintechf.com
