Measuring the greenhouse gas emissions of loan customers
Sparebanken Sør is one of more than 150 banks and investors from around the world who have committed to measuring and publishing the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its lending and investment portfolios.
They will do this through the global Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).
“We want our lending and investment portfolio to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. To do this, we need to establish the actual scope of the emissions from the portfolio. Up to now, the entire financial sector has found it difficult to calculate this figure.”
So says CEO of Sparebanken Sør, Geir Bergskaug, before adding that he believes that the PCAF methodology is a major step in the right direction.
“The purpose of our membership of the PCAF is first and foremost to use the methodology they have developed to calculate and report the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our portfolio of loans, investments and other financial products and services,” he explains.
The partnership obliges the bank to report the total greenhouse gas emissions generated by its loan portfolio by the end of 2023. The PCAF is constantly developing new and better methodologies.
“This is important for us, our customers and society as a whole, and will contribute to both a reduction in emissions and greater transparency. We also hope that our membership will help develop better emissions data for the financial industry. This will be vital to be able to play a role in the green shift,” concludes Bergskaug.
The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) is a global collaboration between financial institutions that are working together to harmonise assessments of and information on greenhouse gas emissions financed by loans and investments. The group is rapidly growing and currently consists of over 150 banks and investors from around the world.