Banking Beyond Climate Commitments: Transforming Client Engagement and Products & Services for a Net-Zero Emissions Future

This research paper examines how private sector banks that have committed to net-zero emissions can transform their client engagement strategies and product offerings to align with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal.

• Banks are increasingly adopting climate-related targets, including sustainable finance commitments, science-based targets (SBTs), and net-zero commitments. As of the writing of the paper, 78 banks are working on their SBTs, and momentum is evidenced by the April 2021 launch of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.
• To align business models with the Paris Agreement, banks should implement a client engagement strategy consisting of five key elements: the collection and management of greenhouse gas (GHG) data, the establishment of emissions reduction targets, client benchmarking, the creation of clear client engagement policies, and the provision of necessary tools and knowledge to relationship managers.
• Banks across developed, emerging, and new frontier markets face common challenges in their transition, specifically regarding the collection of emissions data, the climate knowledge of backoffice functions (such as credit risk and product managers) and relationship managers, and the need for performance incentives to reward staff for climate-relevant transactions.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Banking Beyond Climate Commitments: Transforming Client Engagement and Products & Services for a Net-Zero Emissions Future. https://www.wri.org/research/banking-beyond-climate-commitments

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Banking Beyond Climate Commitments: Transforming Client Engagement and Products & Services for a Net-Zero Emissions Future. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/banking-beyond-climate-commitments.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Banking Beyond Climate Commitments: Transforming Client Engagement and Products & Services for a Net-Zero Emissions Future |url=https://www.wri.org/research/banking-beyond-climate-commitments |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendbanking, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Banking Beyond Climate Commitments: Transforming Client Engagement and Products \& Services for a Net-Zero Emissions Future}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/banking-beyond-climate-commitments}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }