Why we have a climate goal
As one of Sweden’s largest residential mortgage providers, SBAB has a responsibility to support positive development in terms of the climate and environment through our financing of existing and planned housing.
Housing accounts for a large proportion of the total energy consumption and contributes a great deal to Sweden’s greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, many properties fail to meet the requirements we now have for energy consumption. This is where, as a financier, we can make a major difference. Together with our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders, we work to reduce both our customers’ energy consumption as well as our own climate impact. At SBAB, we believe that we make the biggest difference by helping our customers in their climate transition.
The climate goal – a large step in the right direction
That was why in December 2022, we adopted a climate goal to reduce emissions intensity (kgCO2 per m2) from our lending portfolio 50% by 2038. The goal covers our lending to private and commercial property customers as well as to tenant-owners’ associations and is concentrated in the residential mortgage and commercial property sectors. This is part of the fight against climate change and is aligned with the global 1.5°C goal. Setting an ambitious climate goal for our loan portfolio is a large step in the right direction for the climate and an important step for us in accelerating the green transition. These new goals are being established using methods that are science-based and will be validated with the help of the Science Based Targets initiative.
Stopping, or at least counteracting, the negative trends we see today in terms of climate change is a matter of life and death for the entire planet. The construction and property sector accounts for approximately 21% of Sweden’s total greenhouse gas emissions. It is important to us that we take our share of the responsibility transparently and in a method based on research.
Carl Lindståhl, acting Head of Sustainability, SBAB.
SBAB’s emissions according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
SBAB’s emissions primarily arise in lending to customers (Scope 3 downstream). SBAB’s indirect emissions from purchased energy is limited (Scope 2 & Scope 3 upstream). Operations at SBAB have no direct emissions (Scope 1).
