Climact teams up with Zielke Research Consult to offer ESG consulting to Financial Institutions

The partnership is rooted in the need for Financial Institutions to standardize their sustainability reporting and to provide transparency on their ESG performance.

Most companies will have to follow the new EU direction on corporate social responsibility (EUCSRD). Large companies are required to comply with it while the others will be encouraged to do so.

The framework requires to report the company strategy, implementation and performance on all environmental, social and governance stakes that are material for the company (whether because of its impact or its vulnerability to it).

As part of it, a full scope carbon footprint, a climate risks assessment, science-based targets and an action plan aligned with EU taxonomy are essential to demonstrate credibility.

The reporting itself is also demanding. This is why CLIMACT partners with Zielke Research Consulting to best support its clients.

Financial Institutions, or FI’s, play a key role in supporting the European Commissions’ Green Deal, as they can influence their clients’ choices regarding emissions reductions. The challenge is to define a realistic goal and to measure accurately the progress made. Climact has helped many companies across industries in the last 15 years to define a clear course for measuring GHG emissions and setting their climate goals. As such, they are a preferred partner for Financial Institutions, helping them measure the climate risk of their portfolio and communicate their performance in a transparent way.

The CSRD will offer more standardization in sustainability reporting.

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting directive that will replace the Non-Financial Reporting Directive intends to bring more standardization for sustainability reporting in Europe. To reach this goal, the CSRD will enforce more detailed reporting requirements and introduce mandatory assurance.

Zielke Research Consult was closely involved in developing the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting or CSRD directive[1] and has been analysing sustainability reports of FI’s for the last five years. Transforming information into user-friendly format is one of their expertise. They currently qualify financial products in line with the EU Taxonomy.

Together, Climact and Zielke Research Consult can improve FI’s sustainability information, making their efforts measurable. The PCAF[2] method for measuring Scope 3 emissions of the investment and credit portfolio for instance is a big step towards more transparency.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Jérôme Meessen-Senior Energy and Climate Change Consultant at +32 498 913 199.

[1] CSRD Directive

[2] PCAF: Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, standard for global GHG accounting and reporting for the financial industry.