Our climate impact

We continuously work to stop and counteract climate change in our operations, both direct and indirect

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Reducing climate impact

Indirect impact

Most of our environmental impact comes from business we finance and invest in. It is therefore important to influence and demand ways to minimize the impact from these business. Our goal is to create good returns on investments and at the same time working towards a more sustainable future.

Responsible investment

Direct consequences

Our goal is to minimise our environmental impact by constantly developing its environmental activities. To achieve this, we are boosting resource efficiency and recycling, for example, and taking environmental impacts into account in purchasing and travel. The Bank's own CO2 emissions are to be reduced over time, well in line with the Paris Agreement and we compensate for the reported carbon dioxide emissions generated by our operations.

Global goals

Handelsbanken's climate reporting

Climate reporting in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

Climate change progress report 2023 (pdf 12.0 MB)

Handelsbanken Funds Climate Report 2022 (pdf 1.6 MB)

Handelsbanken Liv klimatrapport 2021 (Swedish only) (pdf 1.1 MB)

Initiatives we support

In our effort to fight climate change we support a number of initiatives.

Initiatives

Our journey towards net zero 2040

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Our ambition is to align our business operations with a 1.5°C scenario and reach net zero emissions of greenhouse gases no later than 2040. We aim to do this together with our customers and society at large.

Sector Framework Fossil Energy (pdf 1.5 MB)

Handelsbanken’s Transition Plan – towards net zero 2040 (pdf 2.7 MB)

Net Zero Banking Alliance – first round of target setting (pdf 2.0 MB)

Reporting on indirect climate impact

Climate change is perhaps the greatest challenge of our time, and we see an increasing interest and demand concerning how the financial industry handles risks and opportunities linked to climate change. To meet the need for increased transparency regarding these issues, Handelsbanken has published three climate reports covering the bank's lending, mutual funds and pensions and insurance. All three reports are prepared in accordance with the global recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Our effort to reduce climate impact

Reducing CO2 emissions

Handelsbanken's goal is to have net zero emissions of greenhouse gases as soon as possible and by 2040 at the latest. This includes lending, leasing, and investments as well as the Bank's own operations.

In 2023, carbon dioxide emissions from our operations totalled 9,369 tonnes.
Our energy consumption decreased by 6 percent during 2023 as a result of energy efficiency improvements and reduced office space.
As of 2023, we are focusing on CCS as a supplementary measure rather than carbon offsetting. To support the development of CCS, the Bank invests in negative emission certificates through the Puro.earth platform.

Sustainability within the Bank

Our sustainability work encompasses the whole of the Group’s operations in all markets.

Sustainability