South Africa’s Standard Bank has committed to publishing a climate strategy amid increasing pressure from a group of shareholders.
According to a Reuters report, the bank will also share short, medium and long-term fossil fuel exposure targets.
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This comes at a time when several banks are working to reduce their investments in fossil fuels as part of sustainability efforts.
However, it is still not clear when the South African lender will completely stop financing fossil fuels.
In December 2019, Standard Bank’s oil, gas and coal investments amounted to ZAR67.4bn ($4.85bn). The figure represented 4% of the bank’s total lending and commitments.
Recently, a shareholder group called on the bank to conduct a non-binding vote at its annual general meeting this month to publish a strategy and provide a timeline on how it plans to reduce exposure to fossil fuels.
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By GlobalDataThe news agency added that the bank has confirmed that it will publish the strategy and targets as part of its 2021 reporting to shareholders.
Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala was quoted by Reuters as saying in a statement: “We’re deeply committed to supporting inclusive and sustainable development.”
Headquartered in Johannesburg, Standard Bank is the biggest lender in Africa in terms of assets.
Last year, Standard Bank extended its partnership with Salesforce to deliver enhanced digital experiences to its clients.
