Frankfurt am Main, 20 December 2022 – In line with its commitment to a climate-positive future and confirming its net-zero ambition, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA (ProCredit Holding), the parent company of the impact- and development-oriented ProCredit group, has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). This industry-led, UN-convened alliance of banks worldwide is committed to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. This is in accordance with the most ambitious targets set in the Paris Climate Agreement. Furthermore, the ProCredit group has committed to set its future near- and long-term emissions reductions in accordance with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard, as part of the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign. The SBTi has yet to approve the targets.
With over 124 members from 41 countries and USD 73 trillion in total assets, representing 41% of total global banking assets, the Alliance is a critical step in the mobilisation of the financial sector for climate action. It recognises the vital role of banks in supporting the global transition of the real economy to net-zero emissions, encompassing both operational and attributable emissions and including Scope 3 emissions.
ProCredit Holding, like all Alliance members, commits to:
► Set scenario-based interim targets for 2030 or sooner for priority sectors
► Prioritise areas of most significant impact, i.e. the most greenhouse gas-intensive and emitting sectors
► Annually publish emissions and emissions intensity
► Take into account the best available scientific knowledge
► Set first target(s) within 18 months of signing and report annually thereafter
► Disclose progress against a board-level reviewed transition strategy
The NZBA is convened by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and is the banking element of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, chaired by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.
ProCredit Holding is proud to join leading peers from the banking industry in these collective efforts to achieve net-zero emissions for the Alliance by 2050 at the latest.
“We look forward to accelerating climate action and to supporting our clients in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, as well as in South America and in Germany, in realising their transition plans. In response to the Paris Agreement, the ProCredit group has halved its own emissions since 2018. Now setting our sights on achieving net-zero status, we recognise the value of working together with peers and setting further targets based on science. Therefore, we consider the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and the Science Based Targets initiative key counterparts to reaching this goal,” explains Hubert Spechtenhauser, Chair of the Management Board of ProCredit Holding.
The ProCredit group, which is mainly active in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, has been reporting transparently for a number of years on various non-financial indicators and sustainability-oriented activities of its business operations in accordance with GRI Standards (“core” option) and joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials in September 2021.
The ProCredit group’s business approach not only aims to reduce its internal and external environmental impact, but also promotes loans and investments that have a positive impact on the environment.
The ProCredit banks focus their banking relationships on SMEs that meet stringent ESG standards and that have the greatest potential to create environmentally sustainable wealth and employment in local economies. The banks’ lending activities support, in particular, investments in innovative and green technologies. The green loan portfolio already represents close to 20% of the group’s total portfolio.
Media Contacts
Andrea Kaufmann, Group Communications, ProCredit Holding, Tel.: +49 69 951 437 138,
E-mail: Andrea.Kaufmann@procredit-group.com
About ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA:
ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the parent company of the development-oriented ProCredit group, which consists of commercial banks for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In addition to its operational focus on South Eastern and Eastern Europe, the ProCredit group is also active in South America and Germany. The company’s shares are traded on the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The anchor shareholders of ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA include the strategic investors Zeitinger Invest and ProCredit Staff Invest (the investment vehicle for ProCredit staff), the Dutch DOEN Participaties BV, KfW Development Bank and IFC (part of the World Bank Group). As the group’s superordinated company according to the German Banking Act, ProCredit Holding AG & Co. KGaA is supervised on a consolidated level by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht, BaFin) and the German Bundesbank. Further information is available on the Internet at www.procredit-holding.com
The industry-led, UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance brings together over 120 banks representing almost a quarter of global banking assets, which are committed to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050. Combining near-term action with accountability, this ambitious commitment sees banks setting an intermediate target for 2030 or sooner, using robust, science-based guidelines. The Alliance will reinforce, accelerate and support the implementation of decarbonisation strategies, providing an internationally coherent framework and guidelines in which to operate, supported by peer-learning from pioneering banks. It recognises the vital role of banks in supporting the global transition of the real economy to net-zero emissions.
www.unepfi.org/net-zero-banking
About the Science Based Targets initiative:
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious emissions reductions targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on accelerating companies across the world to halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050.
The initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. The SBTi defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets. www.sciencebasedtargets.org @sciencetargets
