Responsible banking blueprint

This report provides a roadmap for how a leading responsible bank could operate by 2030 across climate, nature and biodiversity, healthy and inclusive economies, and human rights. It outlines expectations for strategy, internal processes, policies, portfolio management, client engagement, advocacy, target-setting, implementation, and disclosure. It is intended as guidance, not as a prescriptive standard.

Strategy

Banks should establish sustainability strategies covering climate, nature and biodiversity, healthy and inclusive economies, and human rights. Strategies must be informed by holistic portfolio analysis, identifying sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities across business lines. Alignment with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Global Framework on Chemicals is encouraged.

Climate strategy requires analysis of climate impacts and risk profiles, supported by scientific scenarios and Paris-aligned transition plans. A nature strategy requires assessment of sectoral dependencies, impacts and risks. For healthy and inclusive economies, banks should assess underserved populations and key sectors influencing SME development. Human rights strategy requires screening for high-risk areas and conducting due diligence to identify salient issues.

Internal processes

Banks should embed sustainability in internal risk management, due diligence and financing processes. This includes assessing circular economy opportunities, human rights risks, and impacts on vulnerable groups including women, Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Governance structures must ensure board-level competence in climate, nature and social issues, with systems enabling oversight of sustainability dependencies, impacts and opportunities.

Theme-specific processes include climate risk management, nature-related risk processes, social and gender impact considerations, and human rights due diligence including remediation.

Internal policies

Banks should implement climate, nature, social and human rights policies for high-impact sectors. Climate policies should align fossil-fuel exposures with 1.5°C scenarios. Nature-related policies should address sectors contributing to key drivers of biodiversity loss. Policies on social issues and human rights should target high-risk sectors such as agriculture, extractives and textiles.

Portfolio composition and financial flows

Mobilisation of capital

Banks should mobilise significant capital towards sustainable development while upholding do-no-harm principles. For climate, this includes financing low-carbon transition activities, adaptation and resilience. Lending volumes for green, transition and adaptation finance should increase steadily and be transparently disclosed.

For nature, banks should contribute to reducing the biodiversity finance gap by financing nature-positive solutions, ecosystem restoration, pollution reduction and circular economy initiatives. They should direct portions of climate finance towards nature-based activities.

For healthy and inclusive economies, banks should expand lending to SMEs, support financial inclusion and allocate capital to businesses promoting decent work and gender equality. For human rights, they should increase financing to clients with strong human rights processes aligned with the UNGPs.

Product & services framework

Banks should develop sustainability-aligned financial products supporting transition efforts, including financing for energy transition, circular models, pollution reduction, water resilience and nature-positive supply chains. Products supporting SME development, financial inclusion, gender equality and decent employment are encouraged. Human-rights-linked financial products requiring due diligence and grievance mechanisms should also be developed.

Client engagement

Awareness raising & support plans

Banks should raise awareness among clients on sustainability risks and opportunities and support them in developing targets and transition plans. Engagement should initially focus on key clients in high-impact sectors.

Theme-specific considerations

Engagement should address climate risks, nature impacts, circularity opportunities, pollution reduction, gender disparities, social inequality, and human rights expectations. Banks should collaborate with clients on improving employment practices and supply chain standards.

Outcomes

Banks should demonstrate increased numbers of clients with improved sustainability management, nature-related practices, decent employment standards, financial health and human rights due diligence.

Advocacy and partnerships

Banks should advocate for enabling sustainable finance policy environments across climate, nature, social and human rights domains. Actions include supporting NDC and NAP implementation, NBSAPs, biodiversity finance plans, rights-based approaches for Indigenous Peoples, gender equality, financial inclusion and multi-stakeholder efforts to address human rights risks.

Targets

Banks should set targets across areas of highest impact or adopt integrated targets. Climate targets should be science-based and aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, including phasing out harmful activities. Nature targets should align with halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 and addressing drivers of biodiversity loss. Social targets may include financial inclusion, gender equality, decent employment and SME diversity. Human rights targets should measure portfolio-wide commitment and due diligence processes.

Target implementation

Banks should implement transition plans showing reductions in financed emissions, increased climate resilience, contributions to biodiversity goals, improvements in water use, pollution reduction and resource efficiency. Social outcomes include improved financial health, SME resilience, decent job creation and gender-responsive practices. Human rights implementation includes increasing portfolio alignment with UNGPs.

Disclosure

Banks should report progress against milestones, KPIs and transition plans. Climate disclosures should include emissions profiles, energy financing ratios and coverage boundaries. Nature disclosures should align with TNFD and relevant regional standards. Social disclosures should be disaggregated by gender, age, income and location. Human rights disclosures should explain due diligence actions, risk management and outcomes.