Tackling climate change

Addressing climate change is one of our six long-term commercial growth drivers and it is embedded in how we run our business.

We must drastically reduce emissions over the next decade and work towards net zero by 2050 to prevent the most devastating effects of climate change. Our roadmap to net zero focuses on funding the transition to support a low carbon future and deliver secure returns.

We will support the transition to a net zero economy through how we invest capital, influence others, and operate our business.

Simon Gadd

Group Climate Change Director

The good news is that there is a window in which we can, and must, act. We need all sectors of the economy to make radical changes. We see making clear commitments on climate change as a necessary first step; now comes the hard work to deliver against them for us and the businesses we invest in.

Simon Gadd

Group Climate Change Director

Our goals

We have committed to six broad climate goals, underpinned by our net zero roadmap which sets out the steps we will take between now and 2050.

1. We support the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5-degrees Paris Agreement, alongside achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

2. We recognise the critical role that nature has in achieving the Paris Agreement and embrace the challenge of eliminating financing of commodity-driven deforestation across our investment portfolios.

3. We will decarbonise the assets on our balance sheet and our operations to align with the Paris Agreement.

4. We will set ambitious near-term science-based targets to support our long-term emissions reduction goals. We will disclose these in 2023.

5. We advocate for urgent action to mitigate the climate emergency from governments and the companies in which we invest. 

6. We will use our influence as a large investor to promote a transition to a low-carbon economy. 

We are making progress

We’ve invested £1.3bn in renewable energy so far, helping to build wind farms and support other clean energy businesses

£1.3bn

All the homes we build will be capable of net zero carbon operation from

2030

In 2021, our Investment Stewardship team engaged with 571 companies to deliver positive change on societal themes including net-zero emissions, ethnic diversity and gender diversity

571

UN Sustainable Development Goals

We have a responsibility to help achieve the aims of the United Nations Sustainable Goals (SDGs). The goals help guide us, our customers and society towards a brighter, sustainable future.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

View our climate change videos