Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing society today and is increasingly being recognised by governments across the world as a rapidly escalating global emergency. The window to slow down and stop the damage is getting smaller, but we still have time to change course if we take action now.

As part of the UK’s largest financial services group, we can make a real difference to tackling climate change by helping to finance a greener future together. This will require not only new ways of thinking, living and working, but new ways of investing too.

As an organisation, we are acutely aware of the urgent need for financial market participants, financial advisers, and institutions across the globe to transition towards a low-carbon future, and to grow the green economy: for the prosperity of Europe and the UK, and to safeguard our customers’ ongoing investments and financial futures.

The integration of ESG* considerations into the fabric of an organisation not only improves the health of the firm, but also translates into better long-term performance outcomes for investors and customers. In essence, having a robust ESG policy in place has gone from a nice to have, to something that all firms must have in place if they want to be taken seriously and future proof their business.