In June 2022, NatWest, a leading banking institution, introduced Carbon Planner, a tool designed to assist businesses in their efforts to minimize their carbon footprints. To delve deeper into this initiative, we spoke with James Close, NatWest’s Head of Climate Change.
The Carbon Planner aims to support businesses in their transition towards sustainability, aligning their operations with the bank’s carbon emissions and climate impact objectives. This interactive tool allows users to input their energy consumption data, which then generates insights into their carbon footprint. The platform recommends actionable steps tailored to specific sectors, ensuring that businesses have access to relevant resources.
Close explains the mechanics behind the Carbon Planner’s emissions calculations: “Users are guided through a series of questions. Their answers feed into a carbon footprinting model which estimates their carbon emissions. This model is based on established guidelines from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG), and as carbon accounting practices evolve, so too will the Carbon Planner.”
A survey conducted by NatWest revealed that 58% of businesses feel they need financial support to cut their carbon emissions. Close emphasizes that the Carbon Planner is a vital step in aiding these companies on their sustainability journey.
“Available free of charge to all UK businesses, the Carbon Planner highlights potential solutions, including financing options such as loans, asset finance, and grants. We have trained many of our relationship managers through sustainability programs at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh to ensure they can direct clients toward the most relevant support.”
Additionally, NatWest’s Green Loan platform aims to finance companies that aspire to enhance their environmental sustainability.
In addition to facilitating access to solutions and products aimed at reducing carbon emissions, the Carbon Planner also enables businesses to monitor their progress toward sustainability goals. Users can track their initiatives by marking actions as ‘in progress’ or ‘completed,’ allowing them to visualize the planner’s impact.
“We recognize that for growing businesses, their carbon footprint may increase even when they’re actively working to reduce it. That’s why we plan to introduce additional features in the future, enabling these clients to assess the impact of their initiatives relative to their size, like revenue or employee count.”
The pilot program for the Carbon Planner began in November 2021, during which NatWest collaborated with thousands of businesses to shape the service’s design and capabilities. While specific companies cannot be disclosed, Close indicates that a diverse range of businesses has adopted the Carbon Planner to further their sustainability goals.
Looking ahead, Close asserts that NatWest intends to adapt the service as sustainable technologies advance: “The Carbon Planner will continually evolve alongside the standardization of accounting methods. Our development team has collaborated with industry experts and carbon accounting specialists to create the modeling framework, which has undergone independent review to ensure adherence to GHG protocol guidelines.”
NatWest has set ambitious internal sustainability targets, aiming to halve its climate impact by 2030, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, and allocate £100 billion toward Climate and Sustainable Funding between July 2021 and 2025.
Addressing climate impacts is becoming increasingly crucial for businesses across various sectors, as a significant portion of global carbon emissions can be traced back to a limited number of large corporations. To mitigate further harm, more financial services are adopting sustainable practices, while regulatory bodies are establishing guidelines to monitor and manage climate-related risks.