Overview

The SUSREG Annual Report is a comprehensive benchmark series produced by WWF as part of its Greening Financial Regulation Initiative (GFRI). It provides an independent assessment of how central banks and financial supervisors across the globe are integrating climate, environmental, and social (CES) risks into their mandates and core operations. The 2025 report represents a significant expansion of the framework’s scope to include capital markets and introduces a specific thematic focus on deforestation, freshwater management, and ocean health. It covers 50 jurisdictions for banking, 46 for insurance, and 12 for capital markets, representing approximately 89% of global GDP and 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Purpose

The report is designed to track progress and identify persistent gaps in sustainable financial regulation and central bank activities. It aims to inform the decisions of policymakers, central bankers, and financial regulators by highlighting best practices and areas requiring urgent action to address the growing risks of climate change and nature loss. The series serves as a tool to ensure that the financial sector accelerates the transition towards a net-zero, nature-positive, and socially equitable future. By providing a structured evaluation of regulatory maturity, it helps authorities identify where standards are hardening or loosening, thereby preventing regulatory arbitrage and reducing systemic risk within the global financial system.

Methodology

The SUSREG assessment uses a qualitative framework consisting of three tiers of indicators: Basic (Foundations), Intermediate (Quick Wins), and Advanced (Game-Changers). These indicators are applied across three main pillars: Banking and Insurance Supervision, Central Banking, and Capital Markets, with an overarching focus on the Enabling Environment and Market Infrastructure. The methodology evaluates measures such as micro-prudential and macro-prudential supervision, disclosure requirements, and the alignment of monetary policy tools with sustainability objectives. In 2025, the methodology was tightened by reweighting indicators to emphasise measures with greater prudential impact and raising the evidentiary bar by excluding non-binding industry-association guidelines. The assessment is conducted against regulations, supervisory expectations, and guidance issued by central banks and relevant financial authorities in the covered jurisdictions.

Use for Finance Professionals

Finance professionals can utilise this report as a benchmarking tool to understand the evolving regulatory landscape in various jurisdictions. It allows asset managers, bank risk officers, and insurers to anticipate upcoming mandatory requirements for climate and nature-related disclosures, transition planning, and capital calibration. The report’s detailed case studies provide practical examples of how leading central banks and supervisors are operationalising nature-risk management and social-risk integration. Furthermore, the analysis of macro-prudential tools like systemic risk buffers helps professionals assess the potential for future regulatory interventions that could affect capital allocation and pricing. By understanding which jurisdictions are frontrunners, finance professionals can better manage cross-border regulatory risks and align their internal strategies with global sustainable finance trends.