Three principles that guide our net zero approach
Our second Net Zero Methodological White Paper sets out how we plan to manage and measure our progress.
At Standard Chartered, we believe in the importance of building trust as we deliver on our net zero commitments and sector-specific targets.
Trust must underpin our targets because progress toward a sustainable future cannot be accomplished in isolation. Therefore, we need a clear and transparent path that supports active engagement with our stakeholders around the world, including clients, vendors, shareholders, civil society and our employee base.
Our second Net Zero Methodological White Paper sets out this path, providing clarity on our net zero journey by detailing how, through our commitment to sector-specific science-based methodologies, we plan to manage and measure our progress. This is an important step in delivering on our net zero commitment and the related transparent disclosure of information to achieve the objectives enshrined in the Paris Agreement.
The White Paper reflects three core principles:
1. Ambition
Our market footprint informs our unique understanding of the complexity associated with reaching net zero across our financed and facilitated emissions, while supporting sustainable economic growth. Roughly a third of our markets do not yet have targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and as such, where we are working to align our direct and indirect emissions to the Paris Agreement, we are often engaging stakeholders to move further and faster than they otherwise would.
2. Science-based targets
We have adopted science-based and sector-specific methodologies to measure and govern our in-scope loan book to net zero. Our carbon accounting is calculated and reported in-line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol via the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). Additionally, we refer to scientific and industrial climate guidance from the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), Poseidon Principles, Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) and Mission Possible Partnership (MPP).
We have consciously chosen a science-based approach to our net zero programme. To add credibility to our intermediate 2030 financed emissions targets and market confidence to the ambition of our programme, we have engaged EY to opine that our targets are science based, meet the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement, and are mathematically accurate in reference to the third-party scientific scenarios. EY will soon issue a public report confirming their findings, making Standard Chartered the first Global Systemically Important Bank (GSIB) to have such external confirmation.
3. Robust credibility
We aim to reach net zero in our financed emissions by 2050 and in our operations by 2025. Through our White Paper, we’re setting out how we plan to progress on our pathway to achieve net zero and in doing so, offer a credible and science-based approach to the market that includes emissions intensive sectors as defined by the NZBA. It provides a transparent view as to how Standard Chartered will move forward based on our net zero ambitions, working across our business and alongside our clients to deliver on our targets.
We still have much to do and we don’t have all the answers, but we’re clear on our roadmap and unwavering in our focus to get there. We will continue to work step-by-step to deliver the transition and support our markets, guided by the methodology and scientific pathways set out in our White Paper.