Standard Bank Group

Our climate strategy

We are committed to achieving net-zero emissions carbon emissions for our lending and investment portfolio by 2050. Our approach to managing climate-related risk and opportunity is grounded in our group purpose: Africa is our home, we drive her growth. We commit to enabling Africa’s just energy transition and to prudently managing climate risk.

Mitigating risk and shaping a sustainable future

In line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, we are committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions in relation to:

  • Our own operations, including office building, branches and datacentres, for newly built facilities by 2030 and for
  • existing facilities by 2040
  • SBG's lending and investing portfolio by 2050

SustainableFuture_14Dimensions
Driving Africa’s just energy transition

To achieve a just transition, we must balance environmental priorities with the needs of a continent that faces significant social and economic challenges, including the need for better access to modern energy services and the need for economic development to lift people out of poverty. We are supporting Africa’s just energy transition by:

Working with our clients to provide the finance and support needed for individuals, businesses and economies to mitigate their emissions, adapt to a changing climate and strengthen their resilience to climate risk

Growing clean energy capacity in Africa, including renewable energy, distributed energy systems, and associated energy infrastructure

Actively managing our exposures to oil and gas over time as part of a broader transition to net zero, and engaging with our clients to encourage and support their decarbonisation efforts

Our group-led program ensures that climate-related factors are fully integrated into our overall risk management framework, impacting multiple areas of risk. This comprehensive approach allows us to effectively manage potential challenges and make informed decisions for the future.

Our climate journey and future commitments

Our climate policy prioritises Africa’s social, economic and environmental context. We’ve set targets for thermal coal, oil, gas and agriculture and will expand our climate targets in sectors including insurance, residential and commercial property, and transportation.

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2025
  • Updated our climate policy
  • Published targets to reduce financed emissions targets for our oil and gas portfolio
  • Published financed emissions baselines for coal, and residential and commercial real estate
2024
  • Mobilised R74.3 billion sustainable finance, including R22.5 billion in green finance and R17.2 in social finance.
  • Participated in the SARB exploratory climate-risk stress test
  • Published baseline financed emissions for upstream oil and gas
  • Published financed emissions for upstream oil and gas 
  • Expanded employee training programmes on sustainability, including climate-related risk across sectors and countries
2023
  • Published Sustainable Finance framework
  • Mobilised R15.5 billion for new renewable energy infrastructure and R600 million for climate smart agriculture
  • Published phase two commitments and targets 
  • Implemented climate risk scenario analysis and stress testing on pilot basis in selected sectors 
  • Selected phase three sectors and commenced risk assessment and target setting 
  • Implemented sustainability and climate training for employees across business areas and risk functions 
  • Included climate risk assessment in environmental and social (E&S) risk assessment process 
2022
  • Committed to achieving net zero by 2050 
  • Published SBG climate policy, with targets and commitments for phase 1 sectors 
  • Selected phase two sectors and commenced risk assessment and target setting
  • Adopted group-wide climate risk management programme 
  • Joined PCAF to build capacity to measure financed emissions 
  • Subsidiary board members undertook training on climate change 
  • Mobilised 18.2 billion for new renewable energy infrastructure 
2021
  • Selected priority sectors for phase 1 and began work to assess exposure to climate risk and set climate commitments and targets 
  • Hosted first annual climate change summit for clients and partners 
  • Launched bespoke climate-focused executive development programme with University of London’s School of Oriental and African (SOAS) 
  • Launched PowerPulse to provide solar PV solutions for businesses and LookSee for homeowners 
2020
  • Implemented fossil fuels finance policy 
  • Published first annual climate-related disclosures report 
  • Published SBG Sustainable Bond Framework 
  • Issued inaugural USD200 million green bond with the IFC 
  • Board members undertook training on climate change 
2019
  • Implemented restrictions on financing thermal coal mining and coal-fired power generation 
  • Joined UNEPFI’s TCFD pilot programme for banks 
  • Established sustainable finance team to leverage climate-related opportunities 
ESG governance and risk management
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2025
2025
  • Updated our climate policy
  • Published targets to reduce financed emissions targets for our oil and gas portfolio
  • Published financed emissions baselines for coal, and residential and commercial real estate
2024
2024
  • Mobilised R74.3 billion sustainable finance, including R22.5 billion in green finance and R17.2 in social finance.
  • Participated in the SARB exploratory climate-risk stress test
  • Published baseline financed emissions for upstream oil and gas
  • Published financed emissions for upstream oil and gas 
  • Expanded employee training programmes on sustainability, including climate-related risk across sectors and countries
2023
2023
  • Published Sustainable Finance framework
  • Mobilised R15.5 billion for new renewable energy infrastructure and R600 million for climate smart agriculture
  • Published phase two commitments and targets 
  • Implemented climate risk scenario analysis and stress testing on pilot basis in selected sectors 
  • Selected phase three sectors and commenced risk assessment and target setting 
  • Implemented sustainability and climate training for employees across business areas and risk functions 
  • Included climate risk assessment in environmental and social (E&S) risk assessment process 
2022
2022
  • Committed to achieving net zero by 2050 
  • Published SBG climate policy, with targets and commitments for phase 1 sectors 
  • Selected phase two sectors and commenced risk assessment and target setting
  • Adopted group-wide climate risk management programme 
  • Joined PCAF to build capacity to measure financed emissions 
  • Subsidiary board members undertook training on climate change 
  • Mobilised 18.2 billion for new renewable energy infrastructure 
2021
2021
  • Selected priority sectors for phase 1 and began work to assess exposure to climate risk and set climate commitments and targets 
  • Hosted first annual climate change summit for clients and partners 
  • Launched bespoke climate-focused executive development programme with University of London’s School of Oriental and African (SOAS) 
  • Launched PowerPulse to provide solar PV solutions for businesses and LookSee for homeowners 
2020
2020
  • Implemented fossil fuels finance policy 
  • Published first annual climate-related disclosures report 
  • Published SBG Sustainable Bond Framework 
  • Issued inaugural USD200 million green bond with the IFC 
  • Board members undertook training on climate change 
2019
2019
  • Implemented restrictions on financing thermal coal mining and coal-fired power generation 
  • Joined UNEPFI’s TCFD pilot programme for banks 
  • Established sustainable finance team to leverage climate-related opportunities 
ESG governance and risk management
Download our climate policy documents
2025-03-28
337 KB
PDF
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