(Credit: Pixabay)HSBC today announced the introduction of Green Deposits in the United States, giving businesses an option to put cash reserves to work to support decarbonization. The funds that clients place in Green Deposits are used to finance environmentally beneficial projects.
Eligible categories of green projects are aligned to the HSBC Green Bond Framework and Green Loan Principles, ensuring a portfolio of sustainable assets that meet industry standards. Green project themes include renewable energy, energy efficiency, efficient buildings, sustainable waste management, sustainable land use, clean transportation, sustainable water management, and client change adoption.
HSBC is embedding sustainability into its products and services, including access to capital markets, lending, transaction banking and advisory services. The bank’s net zero strategy, announced in October 2020, aligns its provision of finance with the Paris Agreement goal of net zero by 2050 across all sectors in its client portfolio. HSBC expects to provide between $750 billion and $1 trillion in financing and investment to enable its clients’ net zero transition between 2020 and 2030.
HSBC also has launched Business Plan for the Planet, a global campaign to build further awareness of the importance of a net zero economy, and to showcase how HSBC can empower businesses with the understanding, the capabilities and the resources to help them make a low-carbon transition.
In 2020, HSBC formed a dedicated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Solutions unit to help clients around the world rebuild and transition their businesses and economies in a more sustainable way post-COVID-19. HSBC says the new unit will more effectively focus the bank’s full range of capabilities and expertise in providing clients with ESG-related advice, strategies, and financing ideas.
