BNG Bank will report CO2 impact based on PCAF accounting method

New asset classes have been added to the methodology and new tools are available for the growing number of financial companies who want to use the PCAF methodology. Participating institutions in the Netherlands represent over €3.5 trillion of assets under management, many of whom already publicly disclose the associated carbon footprint.   

The Dutch group pioneered the development of a methodology to assess the carbon emissions of financial institution's loans and investments. This groundbreaking approach has been the catalyst for a global movement of institutions who assess their emissions with a view, ultimately, to align their impact with the Paris Climate Goals.

Triodos Bank's Spanish Managing Director, Mikel Garcia, and FMO Jorim Schraven, Director of Impact and ESG at Dutch development bank, FMO, presented the report, Accounting CHG emissions and taking action: harmonized approach for the financial sector in the Netherlands, to Marcel Beukeboom, Climate Emissary of the Dutch government during the climate summit in Madrid.

"BNG Bank enables the Dutch public sector to achieve socially relevant objectives. Almost all our customers are delivering a positive contribution in the field of sustainability on behalf of their nature. Our challenge is to demonstrate this even better. Reporting on the climate impact of our financing and formulating tool for us to realize our ambitions on this subject", says Olivier Labe, member of the executive board BNG Bank, responsible for sustainability.

Global movement

PCAF started in the Netherlands in 2015, when ASN Bank took this initiative during the climate summit in Paris. Eleven Dutch financial institutions joined this first effort of its kind by the financial industry, for the financial industry. PCAF has now become a worldwide standard. To date, 56 financial institutions from around the world have joined and committed to measure and report on their CO2 emissions. They represent $3.5 trillion in total assets.

The ambition of PCAF is to grow this number to 100 institutions worldwide within a year. In the future, the group believes that measuring and disclosing CO2 impact should become common practice across the entire financial sector.

Science based targets

An important next step in the development of PCAF is to use insights from assessing greenhouse gas emissions to set science-based targets. These targets will help ensure financial institutions play their part in keeping the global increase in temperature within safe levels.