| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | ||
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1 | The carbon emissions of UK banks providing business accounts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Last updated: 20 November 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | More info: https://holdfastprojects.com/bank-emissions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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6 | Scope 1 emissions tCO2e | Scope 2 emissions tCO2e | Scope 3 emissions tCO2e | Total scope 1-3 emissions tCO2e | Financed emissions tCO2e | Total emissions incl financed emissions tCO2e | Assets £ | Implied emissions factor excl financed emissions kgCO2e/£ | Implied emissions factor incl financed emissions kgCO2e/£ | How much larger is the number when you include financed emissions? | Confidence in number? and Notes | Sources | Emission numbers last checked on... | ||||||||||||||
7 | Starling | 32.0 | 173.0 | 7,530.0 | 7,735.0 | ? | ? | 14,767,892,000 | 0.00052 | 0.0097421 | 18.6 | Low confidence: Starling are clearly pretty good but I'm guessing financed emissions and using a scope 3 number from 2021 year! 18Jun24: the 2024 annual report doesn't disclose S3 (so I'm using their S3 2023 number) or financed emissions - hopefully they'll update the carbon reduction page soon (20Nov24: they haven't). They say they will disclose FE in due course, so I’ve done A Big Handwavy Guess at their financed emissions: for those banks that don't disclose financed emissions but feel(!) like they're not financing fossil fuels, I took the ratio between emissions without FE and emissions including FE for Co-op bank, trebled it (to be conservative), and multiplied that by the bank's emissions without FE. I know. | 2024: 14,767892,000 assets, S1 32, S2 173, S3 ??? - p51 of Accounts at https://www.starlingbank.com/investors/2024/annual-report-2024/ 2023: 13,711,495,000 assets, S1 15.0 (restated 2024 as 23.0), S2 186 (restated 157), S3 7,530.0 https://www.starlingbank.com/docs/annual-reports/Starling-Bank-Annual-Report-2023.pdf and https://www.starlingbank.com/about/carbon-reduction-plan/ | 20 Nov 2024 | |||||||||||||
8 | HSBC | 19,000.0 | 224,000.0 | 1,052,000.0 | 1,295,000.0 | 35,900,000.0 | 37,195,000.0 | 3,038,677,000,000 | 0.00043 | 0.0122405 | 28.7 | Low confidence: data hard to find in reports, financed emission data incomplete? Financed emissions reported in a variety of metrics. Here I'm only using oil and gas (2023) and thermal coal (2020) because they don't report the other sectors they fund in mtCO2e (sigh), so I believe this 0.012 number to be significantly lower than the true figure. | https://www.hsbc.com/-/files/hsbc/investors/hsbc-results/2023/annual/pdfs/hsbc-holdings-plc/240221-annual-results-2023-media-release.pdf p64ish and https://www.hsbc.com/-/files/hsbc/who-we-are/pdf/240123-our-net-zero-transition-plan.pdf p75, but nb different numbers in different docs... | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
9 | Triodos | 199.0 | 110.0 | 1,092.0 | 1,401.0 | 252,000.0 | 253,401.0 | 19,893,862,878 | 0.00007 | 0.0127376 | 180.9 | High confidence: very impact-focused. NB Triodos do not provide business accounts any more :( | https://www.annual-report-triodos.com/2023/ | 20 Apr 2024 | |||||||||||||
10 | Co-op | 684.7 | 1,541.6 | 55,857.1 | 58,083.4 | 302,564.9 | 360,648.3 | 26,071,300,000 | 0.00223 | 0.0138332 | 6.2 | High confidence. They put the financed emissions in their carbon report for own operations which seems rare. [Update 19 Apr 24: Coventry Building Society intends to purchase Co-op Bank] | https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/pdf/bank/investorrelations/2023-sustainability-report.pdf 2023, page 41 | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
11 | Virgin Money | 2,677.0 | 6,002.0 | 55,038.0 | 63,717.0 | 1,643,598.0 | 1,707,315.0 | 91,786,000,000 | 0.00069 | 0.0186010 | 26.8 | High confidence. The numbers quite easy to find in the annual report. S1-3 numbers much higher than Santander, but the financed emissions much lower. | 2023 https://www.virginmoneyukplc.com/downloads/pdf/virgin-money-uk-plc-2023-annual-report-and-accounts.pdf p36, 269, 285 | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
12 | Santander | 25,755.0 | 21,516.0 | 125,441.0 | 172,712.0 | 51,750,000.0 | 51,922,712.0 | 1,569,410,254,216 | 0.00011 | 0.0330842 | 300.6 | High confidence. 300x more finance emissions than standard scope 1-3! No wonder you have to go digging for them. | https://www.santander.com/content/dam/santander-com/en/documentos/informe-financiero-anual/2023/responsible_baking-ifa-2023-consolidated-annual-financial-report-en.pdf 2021 p84. Assets converted at exchange rate late Feb 24. | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
13 | NatWest/RBS | 12,922.0 | 51,829.0 | 603,827.0 | 668,578.0 | 22,700,000.0 | 23,368,578.0 | 692,673,000,000 | 0.00097 | 0.0337368 | 35.0 | High confidence. You need to read the climate disclosures report and annual report to find the numbers. | https://investors.natwestgroup.com/~/media/Files/R/RBS-IR-V2/results-center/16022024/nwg-annual-report-and-accounts-2023.pdf p58, https://investors.natwestgroup.com/~/media/Files/R/RBS-IR-V2/results-center/16022024/nwg-2023-climate-related-disclosure-report.pdf p68-9 (financed emissions includes 4mtco2e of estimated "sovereign financed emissions", p69 note 6) and https://investors.natwestgroup.com/~/media/Files/R/RBS-IR-V2/results-center/16022024/nwg-2023-esg-disclosures-report.pdf | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
14 | Monzo | 37.7 | 384.4 | 10,050.9 | 10,473.0 | ? | ? | 5,218,429,000 | 0.00201 | 0.0373288 | 18.6 | Low confidence: I'm guessing financed emissions. No standard carbon reduction plan in public :(. Estimated financed emissions with Big Handwavy Guess method. | 2020(!) emissions https://monzo.com/protecting-the-environment/ and 2022 annual report https://monzo.com/static/docs/monzo-annual-report-2022.pdf | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
15 | Barclays | 9,400.0 | 35,700.0 | 46,500.0 | 91,600.0 | 135,500,000.0 | 135,591,600.0 | 1,477,487,000,000 | 0.00006 | 0.0917718 | 1480.3 | Medium confidence: hard to find numbers. p88 "BlueTrack dashboard" has smaller numbers but I've gone with the bigger ones in p81-2. Note they don't calculate financed emissions for all scopes or all GHGs, so the true number might be higher. | https://home.barclays/content/dam/home-barclays/documents/investor-relations/reports-and-events/annual-reports/2023/Barclays-PLC-Annual-Report-2023.pdf 2022 p187, financed emissions p81-2, assets p80 | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
16 | Lloyds | ? | ? | ? | 0.0 | 122,300,000.0 | 122,300,000.0 | 449,700,000,000 | ? | 0.2719591 | ? | Medium confidence: couldn't find scope 1-3 for own operations. Lloyds may be including own S1-3 from own operations in what they call financed emissions? | https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/investors/financial-performance/lloyds-banking-group-plc/2023/q4/2023-lbg-sustainability-report.pdf p106, 115, 169-70. Lloyds Scope 1-2: 22 mtCO2e. Scope 3: 43.9-68.9 (I've taken a midppoint of 56.4), Scottish Widows s1-2: 10.2. S3: 33.7. The finance emission numbers may include the bank's S1-3 from own operations, it's unclear. See also https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/investors/financial-performance/lloyds-banking-group-plc/2023/q4/2023-lbg-fy-shareholder-factbook.pdf and https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/who-we-are/responsible-business/downloads/2023/2023-lbg-sustainability-metrics-basis-reporting.pdf | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
17 | Tide | 0.0 | 142.0 | 3,570.0 | 3,712.0 | ? | ? | 149,461,788 | 0.02484 | 0.4619455 | 18.6 | Low confidence: old data. Strong carbon statements (biochar: nice), however poor calculated emission numbers. This might be because Tide's still in early growth mode, or that I'm over-estimated carbon intensity because I'm using a number for assets from Dec 2022 reporting to Companies House (perhaps this will have changed a lot 12m later due to organic growth and acquisitions - and growth in assets may reduce emissions intensity). I couldn't find a mention of financed/facilitated emissions, so I've estimated with Big Handwavy Guess method. Feels like it's worth keeping an eye on Tide: I think its numbers will improve this year. (20 Nov 24: asked them if they've published any numbers since Dec 22.) | https://www.tide.co/net-zero-plan/statement-of-fact/ and Dec 2022 accounts https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10366510/filing-history/MzQwNjM4Mjk1MGFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 p17 and net book value of fixed assets p30 [TODO: new annual report for year ending Dec 2023 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10366510/filing-history/MzQzNjU0MTMzOGFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 ] | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
18 | Recognise | ? | 11.947 | ? | 11.9 | ? | ? | 121,900,000 | 0.00010 | 0.0018229 | 18.6 | Low confidence: incomplete data. "an external partner [...] reported that the Bank scores above the median across Environmental, Social and Governance relative to its peers, demonstrating a robust degree of ESG planning to date" p15 annual report... but no carbon emissions reported beyond 53,100 kWh electricity use at head office (p16) - this is a scope 2 number and I've multiplied by GOVUK's emissions factor for the UK grid (0.22499 kgCO2e per kWh) to estimate emissions in tCO2e. However this will only be *part* of their scope 2 emissions. | Some governance stuff at https://www.recognisebank.co.uk/environmental-social-governance-and-sustainability-policy/ but not disclosure docs. Annual report: https://www.recognisebank.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/230821-Recognise-Bank-2023-Annual-Report-WEB.pdf , some SECR reporting at page 7 | 8 April 2024 | |||||||||||||
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20 | 193.9 | Average ratio between emissions intensity including financed emissions and emissions intensity excluding financed emissions. Low confidence: don't trust this because I've had to estimate for 4 banks. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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22 | 9.9 | Numbers with low confidence, or that are guesstimated | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | ? | Numbers that are absent/impossible to calculate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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26 | Most (all?) banks report scope 1-3 emissions under GHG protocol scope 1-3. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | Most separately report "financed emissions" under PCAF protocol. There are emissions from orgs that the bank has lent to or invested in. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
28 | Some have massive financed emissions because they invest in fossil fuels. Others are much smaller. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
29 | Some banks put financed emissions upfront (well done, Co-op). Some don't mention them in their headline numbers (boo, Santander). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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31 | "Banks Produce 700 Times More Emissions From Loans Than Offices" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-27/banks-produce-700-times-more-emissions-from-loans-than-offices might be overstating it a bit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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33 | Do these banks cover most of the market? Probably. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
34 | 2016: 85% of business current accounts held w HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and NatWest/RBS. https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/market-studies/joint-fca-cma-sme-banking-market-study | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
35 | 2023: 75%? https://www.psdgroup.com/uk-commercial-banking-sector-in-2023/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
36 | 2023: Starling says it has 8.9% of UK business banking market https://www.starlingbank.com/blog/change-for-good | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
37 | 2023: Tide says it has 10% of UK business banking market https://www.tide.co/blog/tide-update/looking-ahead-to-2024/ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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