Our impact on the environment
We are actively working on reducing our environmental impact within the framework of our Sustainable Finance Programme. The programme was launched in September 2019 as part of our role as a signatory of the Collective Commitment to Climate Action (CCCA). Despite the dissolution of the CCCA in March 2023, we continue to work on the commitments we made under this initiative.
Our climate commitments
In September 2019, we signed the Collective Commitment to Climate Action (CCCA), an initiative of the United Nations Environmental Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). In signing the CCCA, we are bolstering our determination to limit global warming to below 2°C, whilst striving for 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement. We aim to do this by stimulating the greening of the economy, in close collaboration with our clients.
The CCCA requires its signatories to set decarbonisation targets. We have had ambitious reduction targets for our direct footprint in place since 2015. As respects our indirect footprint, we set targets for a substantial subset of our loan portfolios for the first time in 2022, as published in our Climate Report.
At the end of 2022, KBC also committed its banking activities to the Science- Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). Our engagement with SBTi commits us to having our company-wide, emission reduction targets validated, in line with climate science, within 24 months.
Towards a climate-neutral society
We review our climate targets systematically and continuously and we believe that our strategy reflects our commitment to make the biggest possible contribution, within our sphere of influence, to the needed decarbonisation efforts.
We have carefully reviewed the various net-zero initiatives and will continue to do so going forward. For the time being, however, we have decided not to join any of the net-zero alliances in the financial sector.
More detailed information about this decision can be found in CSD_Communication_Our Climate Commitment.pdf
Our environmental footprint
Measuring our impact on the climate is a critical element in our sustainability approach, specifically in defining policies that reduce this impact. In practical terms: we measure both our direct and our indirect environmental footprint.