İş Bankası announces its 2030 targets

According to the statement made by the bank, İş Bankası, which carries out its sustainability efforts and commitments in line with international standards, has set data-driven emission reduction targets as a signatory to the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which represents 41 percent of global banking assets with its 138 members from 44 countries.

The bank first announced its 2030 targets for emission reduction in carbon-intensive sectors: energy production, cement, and iron and steel.

Accordingly, the target is to reduce emission intensity by 61 percent in the energy sector, 21 percent in cement, and 10 percent in iron and steel by 2030, compared to the 2021 base year.

The set targets represent a fundamental element of the bank's sustainability strategy and reflect its goal of being a guiding business partner in the green transformation of its customers.

İş Bankası used the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) methodology in its targeting work for the specified sectors. Continuing its work on other sectors, the bank conducted one-on-one studies with its customers during this process to maximize the quality of the data forming the basis of the calculations.

While determining sectoral reduction targets based on base year values, internationally valid science-based global scenarios were taken into account.

"We will continue to treat sustainability as one of our strategic priorities"

In the statement, İş Bankası General Manager Hakan Aran emphasized that their efforts to combat climate change are continuing with increasing momentum, and that they have set 2030 interim emission reduction targets for carbon-intensive sectors in order to reach their goals within the scope of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance commitments.

Stating that these targets are an important step toward gradually reducing the carbon footprint of their loan portfolios, Aran noted the following:

"While we continue to address our loan portfolio in terms of climate risks, we also evaluate climate change in terms of the opportunities it creates for green transformation. We will continue to accompany our customers on their sustainability journey in this regard. In addition to providing a total of 6.8 billion dollars in resources for renewable energy projects, which have a 77 percent share in our energy production projects portfolio, we are also committed to contributing to the green transformation in the economy with a 300 billion TL resource package for sustainable finance by 2026. As we prepare to celebrate our bank's 100th anniversary, we will continue to treat sustainability as one of our strategic priorities in our second century. Because we did not inherit the world we live in from our ancestors; we borrowed it from our children, from the future. It is the responsibility of all of us to leave a livable world for the future."

The bank will also phase out coal financing by 2040

İş Bankası announced that in addition to its Net-Zero Banking Alliance interim targets, it will also gradually phase out coal financing by 2040 to support the green transformation in the economy.

In 2020, the bank made a decision that would guide the sector, announcing that it would not finance new coal and natural gas-based thermal power plant investments in electricity generation, and in 2021, it announced that it would not finance new coal mining.

The targets, announced during the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) held in Dubai, once again underscore the responsibility the bank has taken on regarding the provision of transformative financing.

News Source: AA