Banque Postale, Danske Bank among institutions awarded for net zero-aligned policies

Active engagement in annual meetings and support for environmental shareholder resolutions are singled out as common attributes across financial institutions with ambitious climate plans

Nine financial institutions have been recognised for their ambitious net zero policies and commitment to stop financing fossil fuels, in a report by the Centre for Climate Finance and Investment at Imperial College London and non-profit Carbon Tracker. 

The nine organisations received a “gold award” and are described as “leading examples” of how to align a business strategy with net zero. The report authors assessed around 50 financial institutions on their net zero commitments to see whether they “walk the talk” on climate commitments. 

The winners were: US-based ABP Financial Services, Danish pension fund AkademikerPension, Danish bank Danske Bank, UK and US-based sustainable investment company Generation Investment Management, Swedish bank Handelsbanken, French pension provider Ircantec, French bank La Banque Postale, New York City Retirement Systems and UK-based investment management firm Sarasin & Partners.

Delivering “a credible net zero plan” involves “a clear understanding that no new oil, gas or coal exploration and development is needed”, AkademikerPension chief executive Jens Munch Holst told Sustainable Views.

A common trend identified by the report across gold-winning institutions was that they are “actively engaged in annual AGMs by supporting and proposing environmental shareholder resolutions”.

The report is available to read here.