Low-carbon society: SEB to gradually shift away from coal

STOCKHOLM, 1-12-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — “SEB has decided to gradually shift away from coal. From now, SEB will not enter into new business relations with companies with major business in coal mining. This is yet another step on our journey to contribute to a low-carbon society”, says Cecilia Widebäck West, Head of Group Sustainability.

SEB will not provide finance for new coal power plants. This will only be considered for new coal power plants with committed usage of technologies, such as “carbon capture”, which substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SEB can support legacy clients in making environmentally beneficial improvements in their transformation away from coal.

Background and previous progress

The Climate Change Position Statement, originally created in 2011, forms the basis for dialogue with our clients, portfolio companies and stakeholders, as well as it clarifies our ambition and actions to improve our own climate performance.

Since long, SEB makes it possible for customers to finance sustainable and renewable sources of energy and energy efficiency projects. One example is the green bond concept developed with the World Bank in 2007. Over the years, SEB has raised about USD 10.3 billion to green bonds and is, since the start, global leader in terms of supporting companies and organisations issuing green bonds.

During the year, SEB has also launched a green bond fund, for private individuals as well as a global sustainability fund, based on positive selection. This means that managers are actively searching for and overweight companies that provide good environmental management.

Moreover, we have over the last three years financed wind power projects in northern Europe with over SEK 6 billion.

SEB also monitors its energy related portfolio on a regular basis. We will continue to monitor the development of the overall energy related portfolio as well as that for project finance. The aim is to increase the share of renewables and decrease the share of fossil related.

We strengthen our efforts also in our investments and portfolio management processes. SEB’s Investment Management has signed Montreal Carbon Pledge, in which investors commit to measure and publicly disclose the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios on an annual basis. The first report will be published on 1 December 2015.

Read SEB’s Position Statement on Climate Change (pdf)

PRESS CONTACT

Media representatives are welcome to contact us via phone or e-mail. The best way to get in touch with our media relations department quickly is to call the press hotline +4687639110 or use the common e-mail address press@seb.se.

SOURCE: Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB