Instead, in the creation of its debit, credit, and business cards, will use recycled plastic (rPVC).
This simple change is estimated to save 161 metric tons of CO2 and 73 metric tons of plastic per year. The bank’s long-term goal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across its entire supply chain by 2030, if not earlier.
The replacement cards have already begun to be distributed: Malaysia was the first to receive them in January 2021, followed by Sri Lanka in April 2021. The UK will be followed by Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Macau, Mexico, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States before the end of the year.
Transitioning to eco-friendly finance
HSBC’s approach is similar to other examples in the broader business, where an increased focus on ‘finance for good,’ particularly eco-friendly banking, is winning market share.
Banking (), fintech (), and payment solutions are some other examples (). HSBC, on the other hand, has made it plain how vital finance is in achieving a more sustainable society.
According to research conducted on behalf of the bank, 77 percent of those polled agreed with this opinion. Furthermore, 67 percent expressed an active interest in payment cards made in a sustainable manner, 92 percent said banks should be actively involved in environmental preservation, and 87 percent expected to be supplied environmentally friendly cards.
Building a sustainable future
Taylan Turan, Group Head of Customers, Products, and Strategy, described this move as “an important step toward achieving HSBC’s overall vision.” “HSBC is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, and we’ve promised to collaborate with our customers across all industries to achieve this goal.
“Our goal to be net zero in our operations and supply chain by 2030 or sooner includes evolving our payment cards to eliminate single-use plastic cards. New sustainable materials, such as rPVC, provide a clear means for the financial services industry to accelerate its efforts to build a more sustainable future, and we’re happy to be a part of a global movement.”
Is HSBC going to pay a dividend in 2021?
The bank, which is one of Europe’s largest by assets, said it would issue a 7-cent interim dividend but would not contemplate reintroducing quarterly payouts before 2022. According to market consensus, the bank would pay a dividend of 23 cents per share for the entire year of 2021.
Will HSBC pay a dividend in September 2021?
The dividend is payable in US dollars, pound, Hong Kong dollars, or a combination of these currencies in cash. The cash dividend due to holders of American Depositary Shares (‘ADSs,’ each of which equals five ordinary shares) will be US$0.35 per ADS. On September 30, 2021, it will be paid.
Is HSBC carbon neutral?
HSBC stated on Friday that it plans to make all of its operations carbon neutral by 2030 and to achieve net zero carbon emissions across its entire client base by 2050 at the earliest.
By 2050, HSBC plans to integrate its lending and financing activities with the targets established in the 2015 United Nations Paris Climate Agreement. It also stated that it would support its clients during the transition by pledging $750 billion to $1 trillion in loans over the following ten years.
In a statement, HSBC CEO Noel Quinn stated, “As we enter a key decade of change, we have a landmark opportunity to accelerate our efforts to build a healthier, more resilient, and more sustainable future.” “As we work together to establish a thriving low carbon economy, our net zero objective represents a significant step forward in our support for customers.”
HSBC also intends to establish a $100 fund to provide loans to “clean tech” entrepreneurs, as well as a $100 million donation to renewable energy sources and the development of climate innovation ventures.
Banks have come under increasing pressure to stop financing environmentally destructive operations such as coal power projects as the impact of global climate change becomes increasingly apparent. In March of this year, Barclays made a similar pledge to carbon neutrality, while JPMorgan just increased its sustainable energy investment.
Does HSBC invest in fossil fuels?
According to a research, a loophole in HSBC’s vow to phase out coal finance by 2040 will allow the bank to support companies planning to build more than 70 new coal plants, which could result in an estimated 18,700 fatalities from air pollution each year.
The bank’s asset management arm, which is not covered by the coal phase-out agreement, has shares in businesses planning to build 73 coal power plants in 11 African and Asian nations, nearly enough to power all of the UK’s households three times over.
According to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, if operational, these facilities would produce more air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter than all coal-fired power stations in the EU and the UK combined in 2019. (Crea).
According to the analysis, the air pollution caused by these coal plants might result in 29,000 emergency hospital visits owing to asthma, 25,000 preterm births, and 14 million days of work absence each year, costing $6.2 billion.
HSBC’s investments, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, a principal analyst at Crea, are “perpetuating dependence on the dirtiest form of electricity generation in countries that are already among the world’s most polluted.” Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, and Vietnam are all slated to build coal plants.
“The tens of thousands of cases of death and disease that HSBC-linked coal power stations would cause underscore the importance of changing investments to clean energy to protect public health and the global climate,” Myllyvirta added.
Earlier this year, HSBC succumbed to investor pressure over its support for fossil fuels by pledging to phase out its financing of coal-fired electricity and coal mining in developed nations by 2030, and by 2040 elsewhere in the world.
The vow, however, will not apply to HSBC’s $612 billion asset management division, which is anticipated to continue investing in companies that want to build coal power plants in developing countries.
The asset management arm of HSBC, which frequently invests through index-linked funds that include fossil fuel businesses, does not invest directly in coal-fired power plants or coal mining-related infrastructure, according to an HSBC representative.
“HSBC Global Asset Management maintains a responsible investment policy in line with our commitment to the Paris Agreement.” “We prioritize early engagement and action in high-carbon industries to strengthen governance, objectives, and climate risk disclosure,” the representative continued.
Market Forces first highlighted the scope of HSBC’s continued coal investment through its asset management subsidiary in a study earlier this year. Although HSBC’s ambitions to maintain investing in companies were understood, the “devastating human cost of these plants” was disclosed in Crea’s research, according to Adam McGibbon, a lead campaigner at Market Forces.
“As an investor in these enterprises, HSBC is implicated in the destruction of coal facilities.” The fact that HSBC has invested in so many new coal plant-building companies belies its claim to support the Paris Agreement. “HSBC must declare measures to scale off their ownership stakes in coal businesses before of their AGM and Cop26,” he said.
At its AGM later this month, HSBC will propose a special resolution on climate change, outlining the next phase of the bank’s strategy to assist customers in the transition to net zero carbon emissions, including its resolve to phase out coal financing.
In October, the bank announced goals to reduce emissions in its operations and supply chain to net zero by 2030, as well as align the bank’s funded emissions to net zero by 2050 or sooner.
What does it mean to be a net zero bank?
Through our operations, supply chain, and finance portfolio, we are committed to lowering our carbon impact.
To establish a balance that preserves the planet while also maintaining a vibrant, robust global economy, we must reduce the emissions we add to the atmosphere while increasing the quantity we remove.
By engaging with our portfolio of clients to help them gradually decarbonize, we can affect change in our own operations and supply chain, as well as in our finance.
- Develop clear and quantitative approaches to reach net zero emissions using the Paris Agreement Capital Transition Assessment (PACTA) instrument.
- Collaborate with our colleagues, central banks, and industry groups to mobilize the financial system around a globally agreed standard for assessing funded emissions, as well as to establish a functioning carbon-offset market.
- Make regular and public disclosures to communicate our progress in accordance with the recommendations established by the Taskforce on Climate-related Finance Disclosures, the financial industry group that sets environmental disclosure requirements. We’ll encourage our clients to follow suit.
Which banks are carbon neutral?
HDFC Bank, a private sector lender, revealed its aims to become carbon-neutral by 2031-32 on Thursday, ahead of World Environment Day on June 5. The bank is trying to reduce its emissions, energy, and water use as part of this project.
What does the term net zero mean?
Simply said, net zero refers to the equilibrium between greenhouse gas production and removal from the environment. When the amount we contribute equals the amount taken away, we have reached net zero. Indeed, the United Kingdom became the first large economy in the world to announce a goal of achieving net zero by 2050.
Which UK banks invest in fossil fuels?
How much money does the banking sector put into fossil fuels? According to activists Urgewald and Reclaim Finance, the UK’s five largest banks – Barclays, HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds Banking Group, and Standard Chartered invested roughly £40.4 billion in the coal industry alone between 2018 and 2020.
Do Barclays invest in fossil fuels?
According to a research by climate finance campaigners, Barclays invested more in fossil fuel projects than any other UK bank in the months preceding up to the Cop26 climate negotiations in Glasgow.
Despite rising international warnings that any new fossil developments would destroy all chance of avoiding a catastrophic climate breakdown, the bank financed $5.6 billion (£4.1 billion) for new fossil fuel projects from January 2021 to the eve of the UN climate summit, according to Market Forces.
HSBC, which financed $5.3 billion this year, and Standard Chartered, which made $4.3 billion accessible, were put ahead of Barclays’ multibillion-pound support for fossil-fuel projects.
According to the story, Barclays financed a $194 million bond for Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline corporation that owns a stake in the contentious Dakota Access project, which is expected to carry enough crude oil to power 30 coal plants for a year. It further stated that the bank loaned $200 million to MEG Energy, a company that mines tar sands oil from Canada, which is one of the most damaging fuels on the world.
The investigation also exposed how HSBC and Standard Chartered helped Saudi Aramco, the world’s most polluting business, issue a $6 billion bond, and how HSBC financed a $1.5 billion bond for Qatar Petroleum, which holds the world’s largest gas field.
Despite committing to net zero carbon emissions from financing activity by 2050 and providing cautions that no new fossil fuel projects are compatible with keeping global warming under control, the three banks have extended financing to fossil fuel corporations.
The findings of the report were released ahead of a series of Cop26 events on Wednesday aimed at mobilizing public and private financing to assist address the climate emergency.
“Despite their kind words, these banks continue to support fossil fuel businesses and projects that are ruining the world’s hopes of fulfilling climate targets,” said Mia Watanabe, a campaigner at Market Forces.
Market Forces staged a Formula One-style “award giving” for the banks’ “race to disaster” outside Barclays’ Glasgow offices, which is a short walk from the Cop26 venue, to commemorate the new report.
In the five years following the signing of the Paris Agreement, the three banks jointly financed more than $257 billion in the coal, oil, and gas sectors, according to a prior annual report by the group.
According to the research, Barclays is the world’s seventh-largest fossil fuel funder and the largest in Europe, while HSBC is placed 13th. According to Market Forces, Standard Chartered is the top UK financier of new coal plants in Asia, while being ranked 34 globally.
The newest claim comes on the heels of news that Jes Staley, the CEO of Barclays, has resigned following a City regulators investigation into how he portrayed his ties with millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, Standard Chartered announced that it would establish “ambitious new aims” to achieve net zero from financed activities by 2050, including interim 2030 targets for the most carbon-intensive industries, in line with the International Energy Agency’s scenario for a net zero energy system by 2050.
If the world is to reach net zero by 2050, the global energy watchdog declared in May that no new oil, gas, or coal development is possible. Only a few days later, a UN assessment cautioned that worldwide governments’ plans to increase fossil fuel production “significantly” surpassed the limit needed to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius and escape the worst effects of the climate disaster.
“The data is clear: banks that continue to fund fossil fuels cannot claim to be climate leaders,” Watanabe said.
According to an HSBC representative, the bank is “firmly committed” to achieving net zero financing by 2050 or sooner. “We have pledged to phase out thermal coal financing in the EU and OECD markets by 2030, and globally by 2040, as well as to set short and medium-term transition targets for the oil and gas, electricity, and utilities sectors.” By 2030, we intend to invest between $750 billion and $1 trillion in the net-zero transition,” the representative continued.
“We’re aligning our entire financing portfolio to support the goals of the Paris agreement,” a Barclays spokesperson said. “We’re significantly scaling up green financing, directly investing in new green technologies, and helping clients in key sectors change their business models to reduce their climate change impact.” By 2025, we plan to reduce the intensity of our power portfolio’s emissions by 30% and the absolute emissions of our energy portfolio by 15%.”
