International banking group Standard Chartered announced the release of its inaugural Transition Plan, outlining its detailed plan to achieve its climate goals, including its target to reach net zero emissions across its financing activities by 2050.

Among the key actions outlined in the document was a plan by the bank to engage over the next 12 months with all of its existing corporate and investing banking (CIB) clients identified as priority clients whose emissions reductions will be essential to reaching Standard Chartered’s 2030 interim net zero goals.

The release of the transition plan comes as some banks are pulling back on their climate goals, with Wells Fargo announcing that it has decided to discontinue its 2050 net zero and interim 2050 financed emissions targets, and HSBC revealing last month that it has placed its interim financed emissions targets under review due to the slower than anticipated pace of the transition in the wider economy.

While some banks have retreated from their targets, however, Standard Chartered announced last month that it has completed setting interim 2030 financed emissions reduction goals for all 12 of its high-emitting sectors. The bank also revealed that it reached nearly $1 billion in annual sustainable finance income in 2024.

In its Transition Plan, Standard Chartered said that has obtained independent confirmation of 9 of its 2030 targets from EY, becoming the first Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIB) to have such external confirmation of its targets. The bank said that it plans to obtain confirmation on the targets for the remaining sectors in the future.

Dana Barsky, Global Head, Sustainability Strategy and Net Zero at Standard Chartered, said:

“In order to assure integrity in our process and have a sound reference point underpinning our targets and progress, the Bank has consciously chosen a science-based approach to its net zero programme. We also engaged EY to confirm that our targets for Aluminium, Automotive Manufacturers, Cement, Commercial Real Estate, Oil and Gas, Power, Shipping, Steel and Coal, meet the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, and are mathematically accurate in reference to third-party scientific scenarios. We’re pleased to say that Standard Chartered is the first Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIB) to have such external confirmation of its targets.”

In its engagements with its Transition Priority Clients (TPCs), consisting of the most significant clients across the high-emitting sectors, Standard Chartered said that it assesses decarbonization maturity based on factors including the presence of a credible transition plan, decarbonization actions to date, and the ability to finance the capex required to transition. For high-maturity clients, the bank said that engagement will focus on increasing finance towards technologies supporting the scale and rate of decarbonization, while medium-maturity client actions will emphasize financial products and advisory services to support client transitions. For low decarbonization maturity clients, Standard Chartered will initially focus on reporting of operational emissions and setting short-and long-term emissions reduction targets.

In cases in which priority clients are identified as having weak financial strength to finance transition capex, and have no transition plan and low climate action to date, the Transition Plan said that the bank “may need to reassess our level of support,” which may include “reassessing our exposure to such clients and reallocating to those who are actively advancing their decarbonisation efforts.”

Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered, said:

“The transition to a low carbon economy is both more compelling and crucial than ever. As a bank that offers access to sustainable growth opportunities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, we believe Standard Chartered has an important role to play in supporting our clients and markets as they navigate complicated transition challenges, while keeping the overriding objective of the sustainable transition of the real-world economy firmly in our sight lines.”

Other topics covered by the plan include the accountability structure for delivery of the bank’s climate goals, the utilization of “enablers” such as services and sustainable finance products to help catalyze clients’ decarbonization efforts, governance aspects such as the use of incentives and remuneration for the bank’s employees and executives, and training, with the bank noting that over 20,400 employees have completed its “introduction to sustainability” program, as well as “dependencies,” or the external factors such as policy and technology development necessary to be in place to meet its goals.

Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive at Standard Chartered, said:

“As a global bank serving the cross-border needs of our clients, we’re clear that the transition to a low carbon economy presents a significant opportunity to accelerate sustainable and enduring growth across our markets. Whether we’re supporting clients with their transition strategies and business models of the future, developing solutions to finance new innovative technologies, or financing low-carbon infrastructure projects in India, Indonesia, South Africa, and beyond – it is important business for Standard Chartered.”

Click here to access the Transition Plan.