Citi's ESG Target Met Early and Renewed
Citi announces a new five-year plan to further expand its foothold in sustainable financing after meeting its previous $100 billion target ahead of schedule last year.
The five-year «2025 Sustainable Progress Strategy» includes a $250 billion financing target focused on climate change globally after meeting the previous $100 billion target last year, four years earlier than planned.
«If there’s one lesson to be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic it is that our economic and physical health and resilience, our environment and our social stability are inextricably linked,» said Peter Babej, Citi’s Asia Pacific chief executive, in a statement.
As part of the strategy, the bank said it will focus on three key strategic areas: low-carbon financing, climate risk in its portfolios and sustainability in its operations.
Three Key Areas
On low-carbon financing, the bank will add the $250 billion target in addition to the $164 billion already raised which will be only be counted towards the previous campaign to meet the aforementioned $100 billion target. Financing will be focused on renewable energy, clean technology, water quality and conservation, sustainable transportation, green buildings, energy efficiency, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture and land use.
Secondly, Citi said it would continue measuring, managing and reducing climate risk and impact within its client portfolios. It cited close alignment with recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and potential alignment with the 1.5-2 degree Celsius warming scenario.
Thirdly and finally, the bank will further sustainability in its operations through «fourth generation operational footprint goals» focused on GHG emissions, energy, water, waste reduction and sustainable building solutions. It is making headway to achieve various goals such as reducing carbon emissions and completely sourcing global facilities with renewable electricity. The APAC region is one such example of the latter, the statement added.
«True Integration»
The bank further expressed its commitment in the statement by recalling itself being the first U.S.-based signatory for the «Principles for Responsible Banking» last year alongside other achievements.
«ESG has been front and center in Citi’s response to the health crisis, and evermore present in conversations with clients and communities across Asia Pacific.» Babej. «With the $250 billion global goal, we want to be a leading bank in driving the transition to a low-carbon economy. Asia Pacific has a key role to play and we anticipate further acceleration in the region as businesses of all kinds shift to a more sustainable future.»
«We are seeing a true integration of sustainability into our businesses with the formation of additional sustainability and ESG-focused teams and increased enthusiasm and advocacy across Citi,» said Val Smith, Citi’s chief sustainability officer. «Our new strategy unifies these efforts by increasing our commitment to environmental finance, propelling forward our work in climate risk analysis and disclosure and continuing to minimize our own company’s environmental footprint impacts.»
