Getting Down to Business

The report introduces a portfolio-led approach to net-zero banking, designed to help financial institutions move from high-level commitments to robust implementation. This framework focuses on four pillars—sectors, geographies, asset classes, and business units—to identify where and how a bank can best support the real-economy transition. The approach is intended to underpin three stages of net-zero banking: strategy design, implementation, and reporting, while remaining compatible with existing guidance from organizations like GFANZ and the NZBA.

• The portfolio-led approach is based on four pillars that allow banks to assess where and how they can support the real-economy transition: sectors and geographies identify 'where' impact can occur, while asset classes and business units determine 'how' that influence is exerted.
• The portfolio-led approach enhances the three stages of net-zero banking: strategy design (by optimizing plans based on unique influence levers), implementation (by translating commitments into specific tools, governance, and incentives), and reporting (by creating comprehensive narratives to track progress and explain strategic choices).
• The approach is designed to be complementary to existing industry guidance, such as the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ) transition plan recommendations and the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) sectoral target-setting guidance, by adding dimensions like geography and business units that are often overlooked.
• Effective implementation of the portfolio-led approach requires 'transition-relevant data and metrics,' which CCAF defines as those that most effectively enable day-to-day decision-making for the highest impact on the real-economy transition, such as client capital expenditure and transition plans.
• Geographic analysis is essential because transition speeds and risks vary by region; for example, scientific guidance suggests coal phase-out should occur between 2025 and 2030 in OECD countries, but by 2040 in the rest of the world.
• Different asset classes provide distinct levers for real-economy influence: fixed income allows for conditional lending, private equity enables board-level influence through majority stakes, and public equity allows for engagement via shareholder rights.
• Activating specific business units prevents a 'one-size-fits-all' approach and ensures coordination; for instance, retail banking can drive consumer demand for electric vehicle loans, while global markets can develop climate-aligned trading products.

APA

Crouch-Hess, K., Harnett, E., Mann, W., & Warshauer, E. (2022). Getting Down to Business. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/dlm_uploads/2022/12/getting_down_to_business.pdf

Chicago

Crouch-Hess, Kaitlin, Elizabeth Harnett, Whitney Mann, and Ella Warshauer. Getting Down to Business. RMI, 2022. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/dlm_uploads/2022/12/getting_down_to_business.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crouch-Hess |first1=Kaitlin |last2=Harnett |first2=Elizabeth |last3=Mann |first3=Whitney |last4=Warshauer |first4=Ella |title=Getting Down to Business |publisher=RMI |date=December 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/dlm_uploads/2022/12/getting_down_to_business.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crouchhess2022getting, author = {Crouch-Hess, Kaitlin and Harnett, Elizabeth and Mann, Whitney and Warshauer, Ella}, title = {{Getting Down to Business}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/dlm_uploads/2022/12/getting_down_to_business.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }