Climate

 

Engaging customers on climate change

Our business customers are under increasing pressure to respond to the challenges of climate change. By offering guidance on how to manage the risks and maximise the opportunities presented, we further cement our relationships with them.

To this end, our new Sustainability Business Partner programme established a network of around 500 colleagues this year, trained in the science, opportunities and risks of climate change, specifically to help our customers in the transition to a low carbon economy.

Grasping commercial opportunities and managing the risks

As we adapt towards a lower carbon economy, many new commercial opportunities are presenting themselves. We are already one of the global leaders in renewable energy finance, with a portfolio that stands at £1 billion, enough to supply over three million homes.

We are also committed to proactively managing environmental risks in our lending activities and all credit sanctioning requests, and as part of Lloyds Banking Group we are signatories to a number of key global initiatives designed to enhance understanding of how financial activities impact on the environment.

 

Reducing the carbon footprint of our IT systems

Projects in 2010 have delivered carbon savings of at least 6,000 tonnes.

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Driving down our use of resources

Our direct impacts on the environment arise from our business operations and business travel. This includes our use of resources across our large UK estate comprising over 3,000 branches, call centres and offices.

  • We have a strong track record in managing our impacts. We set reduction targets, invest in environmental efficiencies and engage with colleagues to advocate our strategy.
  • We are investing an additional £5 million this year in projects to reduce our use of energy.
  • We promote virtual conferencing technologies to colleagues as an environmentally friendly, cost-efficient alternative to travelling.
  • Over 700 colleagues participate in our Group-wide Sustainability Network, helping to catalyse positive change and improve environmental sustainability in their areas of the business..

 

Insulating our branches

Initial estimates (based on Energy Saving Trust data) indicate that we could achieve energy savings of up to 10%, and an overall reduction in our carbon emissions of 1,600 tonnes.

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