London, UK, 5 November 2021 – Today, PCAF UK published its year-one progress report for COP26. Led by Robert Hall at Federated Hermes and the PCAF Secretariat, the group’s participants supported the development of the latest report which presents a to-the-point summary of (1) approaches being used to calculate residential financed emissions in the UK, (2) the current challenges and technological solutions which can partially mitigate these, and (3) recommendations for UK policy makers which would facilitate the determination of the accurate carbon performance of the UK’s residential building stock.
DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE (PDF, 4.1 MB)
“To achieve net zero we need a whole economy transition - every company, every bank, every insurer and investor will have to adjust their business models, develop credible plans for the transition and implement them. For financial firms, that means measuring and reporting the emissions generated by their investment and lending. The £1.5 trillion UK residential mortgage market is an important piece of this puzzle and PCAF’s work to standardise the approach to measuring financed emissions in this sector is vital to ensure that every financial decision takes climate change into account.” says Mark Carney, COP26 Private Finance Hub
PCAF UK was formed in October 2020 and aims to embrace and strengthen the global PCAF effort by bringing together UK financial institutions to collaboratively meet the challenges in measuring and reporting financed emissions. Participants are committed to climate action and believe that by measuring financed emissions, they are better prepared to take actions and engage with relevant stakeholders to help steer towards net zero portfolios.
“Financial institutions’ journey to net zero relies on the accurate measurement and disclosure of financed emissions. Measuring financed emissions is not without its challenges and PCAF UK provides an action-oriented forum for UK financial institutions, large and small, to work together to solve them. Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of co-chairing the UK Residential Lending Working Group of PCAF UK. Members have shared insights learned from measuring our financed emissions from residential properties, got to grips with the practical data challenges and gained knowledge from academics and innovators on developments that are in train. Our Year 1 report summarises our findings together with a set of recommendations to improve data accuracy and availability. We encourage all financial institutions to embark on their carbon accounting journey, using the PCAF Global Standard and collaborating within the community.” says Alison Vipond, Sustainability Policy and Innovation Lead, Ecology Building Society
DOWNLOAD REPORT HERE (PDF, 4.1 MB)
Media Inquiries please contact:
Angélica Afanador, Program Manager, PCAF Secretariat, E: info@carbonaccountingfinancials.com
About PCAF UK
Together, the 17 PCAF UK participants represent $8.4 trillion in total financial assets who collectively continuoe to further develop the Standard in several working groups. The PCAF UK participants are Aldermore, Barclays, CDC Group, Charity Bank, Ecology Building Society, HSBC Holdings plc, The International Business of Federated Hermes, Investec plc, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, Phoenix Group, PIDG - The Private Infrastructure Development Group Ltd, Santander UK, Triodos Bank UK, TSB Bank plc, Virgin Money UK plc.
About the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)
The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) was launched globally in September 2019. Currently, more than 160 banks and investors have subscribed to the PCAF initiative. PCAF participants work together to jointly develop the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of their loans and investments. By doing so, PCAF participants take an important step to assess climate-related risks, set targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and develop effective strategies to decarbonize our society. For more information see https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/
