Part of the Solution

use transport – are in line with the lowcarbon economy of the future. That our employees are treated well and that neither we nor our suppliers infringe on human rights. But we can do more. As a global bank with billions flowing through our books, we have a huge opportunity, and responsibility to make an impact for the better. Doing more than just mitigating harm by bringing aspects of fighting climate change and protecting human rights into our dialogue with clients and financing decisions. For example, ING structured the inaugural green bond for a large oil & gas company transitioning into a multi-utility company. While the green bond naturally only finances green assets, we advised on increased transparency and accountability regarding its strategy to transition to a low-carbon business model through commitments to publish scope 3 GHG data and set targets for reducing its scope 3 GHG emissions.

We can play a role by financing change, sharing knowledge, and using our innovation skills. Being sustainable is in all the choices we make as a lender, as a partner and through the services we offer our customers

Can banks have a positive role in the region as enablers in the fight against climate change?

Sebastian Frederiks

Absolutely, yes. We engage with clients, business partners and other stakeholders, and collaborate in supply chains and at industry level. We share knowledge based on research and commit to or are part of many international initiatives.

We call upon world governments to create incentives for long-term investments, for instance by setting science-based targets to mitigate climate change and to develop alternative energy sources. We also urge world governments to work towards an effective price on carbon emissions and to stimulate and enable enterprises and institutions to publicly disclose their carbon emissions and forward-looking transition strategy,

We also support our clients by financing circular economy solutions where people and companies ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ instead of ‘take, make and waste’, including making the transition from ownership to access.

We’ve been using our Terra approach to steer our portfolio towards global climate goals since 2018. As it became clearer that the world needs to move faster to reach climate goals, we increased our ambition in 2021. We joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and aim to steer our portfolio in line with keeping the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius rather than two degrees, and achieve net zero by 2050 rather than 2070.

so banks are better capable to take climate impact into account in financing and investment decisions.

Transparency is an important aspect of combatting climate change. We’re committed to transparently communicating the impact of climate change on our business and our impact via our financing on climate change, following the Taskforce for Climaterelated Financial Disclosure (TCFD) recommendations. We report more extensively on climate risk and our progress on alignment of our portfolio with global climate goals in our integrated climate report.

We also recognise that other areas benefit from and contribute to tackling climate change, such as human rights, biodiversity and the circular economy. We have an approach for these areas and continue to strengthen their connection with our climate action agenda.

Can you see banks and financial service providers pulling away from working with some sectors in the coming years?

Sebastian Frederiks

We’ve financed billions of euros in energy projects, through green loans, green bonds and other innovative products and financing constructions. Our sustainability-linked products, for example, offer corporate clients a lower interest rate for improved sustainability performance. We’ve supported hundreds of these types of loans since we introduced them in 2017. In addition, ING executed and placed over 230 ESG bonds since 2015. We say ‘no’ to certain companies and sectors, like with our aim to reduce our exposure to coal power generation to close to zero by 2025. We also respond to financing requests with “yes, but…”, outlining sustainability improvements the client must make first. We believe helping clients improve is more effective than excluding clients altogether. Of course, if they don’t meet our standards and aren’t willing to change, we don’t do the deal.

Are climate considerations spurring new product and service development in the MEA banking and finance sectors?

Bas Bittink

ESG product developments are not entirely novel to the region as banks have been providing retail clients with green mortgage and auto loans for several years. We, however, are noticing an acceleration in the breath of possibilities and digitalization of the traditional banking services (ATM e-receipts, contactless payments, and recycled credit cards). Furthermore, wholesale banking is picking up pace with ESGstructured syndicated facilities as well as ESG-structured bonds incentivizing that sustainable pathway. Tailoring towards the client’s needs and possibilities, while ensuring ESG credibility is of key importance to create a sustainable market practice. ING has been at the forefront in that respect by structuring the region’s first Sustainability-Linked Loan as well as the largest conventional green bond issuance from a bank. Other new wholesale services include for instance ESG ratings advisory, an in-depth advisory proposition which ING is actively engaging on in the region as well.