This page provides highlights of our benchmarking of climate-related disclosures included in the 2021 annual reports of 35 major global banks. It is clear from the disclosures in the annual reports that climate-related matters are at the forefront of board agendas.
The common areas where banks disclose that their board provides oversight over climate-related matters are noted below.
- Climate strategy: includes setting, approving and monitoring the bank’s climate strategy, establishing metrics and targets and monitoring progress against these.
- Climate-related risks: includes monitoring and overseeing climate-related risks in line with the bank’s business strategy and risk appetite, often with a focus on the bank's reputational risk.
Eighty-six percent of banks included disclosures on their governance of climate-related risks and opportunities in their 2021 annual reports. However, the nature and extent of disclosures on governance vary between the banks — for example, 32% of banks provide more detailed disclosures to annual report users.
Generally, the banks acknowledge the roles that their boards and senior management play in climate-related matters. Banks with more detailed disclosures provide information on the following:
- details of specific climate-related matters on which the board provides oversight;
- details of the responsibility delegated by the board to specific committees such as the risk committee;
- details of the responsibilities held by senior management, including the CEO and CRO; and
- whether and to what extent senior management’s remuneration is impacted by climate-related targets and metrics.
Get more insights
Read our benchmarking analysis on how banks reported on climate-related matters in the 2021 reporting season. The report includes the scope and approach of our analysis, and how we have assessed the disclosures as ‘more detailed’, ‘less detailed’ or ‘no disclosures’ provided.
