The Climate Principles
A Framework for the Finance Sector
The Climate Principles provide a voluntary framework to guide the finance sector in tackling the challenge of climate change.
The Climate Principles address the management of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. More importantly, they provide strategic direction on managing climate change across the full range of financial products and services, including: research activities; asset management; retail banking; insurance & re-insurance; corporate banking; investment banking & markets; project finance.
From The Climate Principles
Adopting organisations commit to:
• “Minimise our operational carbon footprint”
• “Make business decisions that will reduce climate change risks and allow the development of climate-change related opportunities”
• “Develop products and services that enable our customers to manage their climate change related risks and business opportunities”
• “Engage with our customers, suppliers and wider society to seek opportunities for a low carbon economy”
• “Support the development of sound energy and climate change policy” and
• “Disclose progress against our commitment”
Adopt the Climate Principles
If you are a financial institution and would like to learn more about how to adopt the Climate Principles, please send an email to:
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Climate Principles?
The Climate Principles provide the first voluntary global framework to guide best practice across the financial services sector in managing the major risks and opportunities of climate change.
The Principles are designed to be forward-looking and aspirational, but require adopting institutions to have already achieved or be moving towards fulfilling key commitments.
What is the goal of the Climate Principles?
The finance sector can play a unique ‘enabling’ role in unlocking a low carbon economy. The Principles provide a common global standard of best practice not only to assist the finance sector in managing its own climate impact but also to assist the sector in supporting its clients and stakeholders in managing their own impacts.
How will The Climate Principles do this?
The Principles will accelerate a low carbon economy by advancing best practice and disclosure across the global finance sector. There is currently no common global framework for best practice that covers the whole range of financial service activities including research, asset management, corporate banking, investment banking, retail banking, to insurance and re-insurance.
Why are The Climate Principles being launched now?
The Climate Principles demonstrate that the Finance Sector is actively engaged in addressing climate change. Also, it demonstrates support for the need for a global policy platform as nations negotiate a post-Kyoto agreement on climate change. Worldwide solutions urgently need to be defined and developed and financial institutions need to show their readiness to contribute to those solutions.
How will The Climate Principles evolve?
The Climate Group will act as secretariat for the Climate Principles and will review, benchmark and develop The Principles to ensure they remain effective in accelerating and advancing robust disclosure and global best practice. the Climate Principles will also evolve as best practice advances, as carbon markets mature, and as climate change science and government policy develop.
Disclaimer: Adopting organisations view the Climate Principles as a financial industry benchmark for developing individual, internal climate change policies, procedures and practices. As with all internal policies, the Climate Principles do not create any rights in, or liability to, any person, public or private. Institutions are adopting and implementing the Climate Principles voluntarily and independently.
