How to join PCAF

Interested in joining the collaboration of financial institutions that are assessing and disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their financial activities?

Follow this five-step process and for additional information on each stage please contact us.

Step 1. Receive detailed information about PCAF

Learn more about PCAF's objectives, scope and implementation plans, as well as how your financial institution can participate in the partnership and benefit from it. Your organization can join a regional team (see below how to join) or PCAF’s core team, which contributes to the development of the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard. Click here to see which financial institutions have already joined the core team.

Step 2. Submit the commitment letter

For a copy of the commitment letter, and information on the fee structure, please reach out to info@carbonaccountingfinancials.com or the relevant regional lead with inquiries about joining PCAF.

Signing the commitment letter indicates that your financial institution will assess and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of its financial activities in line with the PCAF Standard. The commitment letter may be signed by anyone who has the decision-making authority to commit to PCAF on behalf of your financial institution.

After submitting your commitment letter to info@carbonaccountingfinancials.com your financial institution will be recognized as “Committed” on our Financial Institutions Taking Action page.

Please note that the scope of portfolio coverage for the first PCAF disclosure is entirely up to the financial institution, e.g., one asset class, one sector, or simply a percentage of the total portfolio. Financial institutions fulfill their pledge in the commitment letter by making their first PCAF disclosure within three years of signing.

Step 3. Participate in a regional team

PCAF works in five regions: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America. For each region there is a PCAF regional implementation team and some regions have country-specific coalitions, including PCAF Korea, PCAF Japan, PCAF UK, and PCAF Netherlands. Each team will adapt the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard to their respective regional contexts (e.g., expanding with additional asset classes or issues regarding data availability and quality).

Being part of a regional implementation team enables your institution to work with other banks and investors at the regional or country level and to improve your GHG accounting. Your institution will be recognized at global and regional climate and finance events.

Step 4. Assess the emissions associated with the activities of your financial institution

Your institution will receive introductory technical support at no cost to implement GHG accounting of loans and investments (e.g., asset classes scoping, data collection, method application, validation).

Step 5. Disclose the financed emissions of your financial institution

Your institution will receive guidance on the best ways to disclose its financed emissions (e.g., annual reports, how to present results, and link to the institution’s strategy). After disclosing the financed emissions, your institution will be recognized as “Disclosed” on our Financial Institutions Taking Action page.

[...] It’s time for carbon accounting to become business as usual in financial institutions. PCAF provides an easy way to get started, regardless of the size or location of your organisation. We urge others to take the opportunity that PCAF presents, to share your learning from doing so and together we can play our part in the urgent effort to transition to a sustainable, low carbon future.

Jellie Banga, COO, Triodos Bank