Read more about our ambition to become net zero by 2050, our approach and progress highlights.
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NatWest Group uses its Climate and Sustainable Finance Inclusion Criteria (CSFI criteria) (PDF 208KB) to determine the assets, activities and companies that are eligible to be counted towards these targets.
Our Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing target
During H1 2021 NatWest Group exceeded its 2020-21 target of providing an additional £20 billion of Our Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing target in the two years ended 2021.
In October 2021, NatWest Group announced a new target to provide an additional £100 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing target between 1 July 2021 and the end of 2025.
In October, we also published our new revised CSFI criteria (PDF 208 KB) that will be used to determine the assets, activities and companies that are eligible to be counted towards the £100 billion Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing target from 1 January 2022.
Current and previous CSFI criteria can also be found in the Downloads page under 'Policies - sector ESE, procurement, and more'.
Natwest Group offer services, funding and financing solutions to customers, to help them achieve their climate ambitions. The table below summarises NatWest Group Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing activity. demonstrating the support provided to customers to help transition to a low carbon economy.
- In the full year ended December 2021 NatWest Group completed £17.5 billion(*) of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing.
- In the half-year ended December 2021 NatWest Group completed £8.1 billion of Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing, which will contribute towards the new £100 billion target.
The Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing provided to date has included financing for various low carbon generation and energy efficiency technologies, low carbon vehicles and has enabled customers to raise funds through green bonds, loans and green private placements. Our new £100 billion Climate and Sustainable Funding and Financing target will continue to support UK decarbonisation and the Government’s Net Zero Strategy.
Powering the future – growing renewable capacity
Lightsource bp is a global leader in the development and management of solar energy projects. A 50:50 joint venture with bp, the company’s 700 industry specialists work across 16 countries to help deliver affordable and sustainable solar power for businesses and communities around the world.
In 2021, Lightsource bp announced an ambitious new growth strategy, which included increasing the total capacity target of its projects, from 10 gigawatts by 2023 to 25 gigawatts by 2025 – enough to power the equivalent of 8.4 million homes.
With NatWest Group having supported Lightsource bp consistently throughout its journey from a UK start-up 10 years ago to its emergence as a major renewable energy firm, the Lightsource bp management team sought our help again to arrange new funding. After negotiations, NatWest Group, together with a number of leading financial institutions, agreed a new $1.8 billion revolving credit and trade finance facility to support Lightsource bp’s new global strategy. In addition to supporting Lightsource bp’s ambitions to increase solar energy capacity, the new financing will also go towards building an extra nine gigawatts of solar farms exclusively for bp, which aims to increase its renewable energy capacity 20-fold by 2030. Furthermore, Lightsource bp’s growth is also expected to create over 500 new jobs within the company over the next four years.
(*) Within the scope of EY assurance. See our external assurance page for details.
Read more about our ambition to halve our direct own operations emissions by 2025 from a 2019 baseline, and our underlying progress.
Read more about our recognition of issues relating to natural capital and our journey towards reducing negative impacts.