Latest news with #JulianWentzel
Straits Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Stay the course on sustainability despite policy shifts, HSBC urges firms
HSBC's chief sustainability officer Julian Wentzel noted that rather than slowing down, Asia has accelerated in terms of its green transition efforts. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH SINGAPORE – Transitioning to a more sustainable future is a long-term journey, and companies in the region must stay the course despite shifting policies and sentiment, said HSBC's chief sustainability officer Julian Wentzel. Speaking to The Straits Times, he noted that Asia is in fact accelerating its sustainability efforts, with banks like HSBC maintaining their commitment even as some US counterparts pull back. In May, the bank launched the Future Industries Partnership – a three-year philanthropic programme to help climate-related start-ups access capital for sectors that find it harder to reduce their carbon emissions, such as chemicals, cement and mining. The aim is to help these sectors find solutions for safe, sustainable operations. Mr Wentzel, who took up the role of HSBC chief sustainability officer in February, said: 'No matter what is happening, we're an organisation that has been in existence for 160 years, and we're thinking about the next 160 years. And that is why we remain so committed to net zero by 2050.' He added that firms should avoid being influenced by 'policy whiplash'. 'You need to hold your path. You need to sustain what you believe in. And we believe this is important for our customers, for the societies in which we operate and critical for creating wealth for our shareholders because we see a real growth opportunity.' HSBC is doubling down on that resolve even after the US withdrew from the Paris Agreement earlier in 2025, when President Donald Trump took office. Major banks and asset managers such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have since pulled out of net-zero initiatives such as the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, which brings together banks that want to align their lending and investing activities with net-zero emission targets. Mr Wentzel noted that rather than slowing down, Asia has accelerated in terms of its green transition efforts. 'What I see in the Asian region is a doubling down of commitment,' he said, noting that Asean and the Middle East are important markets for the bank. 'From the perspective of growth opportunities, we're seeing a clear trend of capital moving where the climate ambition has been matched with action, and that's this region,' he added. He added that globally, although there might be backlash against sustainability, companies are also still committed to the cause. 'There might be a level of 'greenhushing' to a degree, but I haven't seen a massive change in momentum behind what banks are doing in the US, or how companies are behaving,' he said. He was referring to the practice of companies under-reporting or withholding information on their sustainability targets and achievements, because they are afraid of backlash from stakeholders, for instance. 'I think most companies acknowledge that the problem exists and will persist, and they have an accountability and responsibility to their shareholders to sustain the path.' He added that companies also understand that if they lose momentum and fall behind in the transition, the consequences are acute. For example, he cited the fires in California and hurricane damage in Florida, all of which have driven up the cost of insurance and affected housing prices. 'Because that is real and tangible, even in the US, I think that keeps people highly focused on the challenge ahead, and the requirement, therefore, to sustain the path and the transition,' Mr Wentzel said. He added that markets like Singapore have an important part to play as a hub that mobilises capital, allows for the creation of new ideas and then transmits that to the rest of the region. Mr Wentzel, who was in Singapore in May for Temasek's annual sustainability event Ecosperity Week, said: 'I think Singapore is showing huge strides in shaping industry standards. 'It's also a great hub for catalysing capital, and promoting an early coal phase-out... So I think what Singapore is doing is creating the opportunity and the facilitation of capital flows.' HSBC has a target of providing and facilitating between US$750 billion (S$964 billion) and US$1 trillion of sustainable finance and investment by 2030. It has hit around US$400 billion as at end-2024. When asked if a larger proportion of the bank's financing will be allocated to sustainable projects going forward, Mr Wentzel said: 'We're going to move to a world where the definition is going to change. It's not going to be about sustainable finance. It's just going to be part of the economy. It's just finance.' He added that the bank will report on its targets but whether something counts as sustainable capital will be debatable. 'We're going to move to a world where the new energy system is going to be a sustainable system, and it will require a significant amount of capital, whether or not we then define that as sustainable capital. Ultimately the end goal is going to be that all new energy is going to be sustainable.' The most vital issue now, he said, is that the world does not lose momentum in sustainability. 'Climate change is a global phenomenon, and it's a global system, it's not bifurcated by geopolitical lines,' he said. 'So it's really important that everybody plays their part in helping to create a clean, sustainable future for us all... It's really about sustaining the path and not allowing anything to cause us to lose momentum in what is the fight for today, tomorrow, and the future.' Sue-Ann Tan is a business correspondent at The Straits Times covering capital markets and sustainable finance. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HSBC pressed on net-zero by $1.6 trillion investor group at annual meeting
This story was originally published on ESG Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily ESG Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: A group of investors who collectively manage 1.2 trillion pounds (nearly $1.6 trillion) in assets are asking HSBC to reaffirm its net-zero emissions goals and commitment to the clean energy transition. The 30 investors, spearheaded by responsible investment NGO ShareAction, called on the bank to 'urgently affirm it will continue to build on its existing climate progress rather than backtrack, and to undertake this process in dialogue with shareholders' in a statement shared during HSBC's annual meeting on Friday.' The letter's signatories include Axiom Alternative Investments, Church of England Pensions Board, Ethos Foundation, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, Rathbones Investment Management and Trinity College Cambridge, among others. Dive Insight: The U.K.-based bank appointed Julian Wentzel — who has worked at HSBC for almost a decade — as its new chief sustainability officer in February. HSBC Chief Financial Officer Pam Kaur said at the time that 'supporting the transition to net zero remains a priority for HSBC and for the customers we serve' in an internal memo seen by ESG Dive. Wentzel was named permanent CSO after serving in the interim role for more than a month. He assumed the role after his predecessor, Celine Herweijer, stepped down at the end of 2024 following a corporate reshuffle that downsized the bank's executive committee. The reshuffle ultimately eliminated the role of CSO from that committee. Shortly after confirming Wentel as its new sustainability chief, HSBC unveiled plans to push back its net-zero emissions target date from 2030 to 2050 in its annual report released Feb. 19. HSBC — the largest bank in Europe by market capitalization, assets and revenue — said in the report it had 'revisited [its] ambition,' leading to the 20-year adjustment to its goal of hitting net-zero in its operations, business travel and supply chain. 'After dropping its Chief Sustainability Officer from its executive committee and announcing plans to review its climate targets and policies in February, HSBC has sent deeply concerning signals around whether managing the rapidly multiplying financial risks of global heating is still one of its priorities,' ShareAction Banking Programme Head Jeanne Martin said in a Friday release. Martin said despite showing climate leadership in the past, HSBC's recent moves have 'left [responsible investors] in the dark on just how committed the bank remains to playing its significant part in securing the long-term prosperity of our global economy.'
Telegraph
27-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
HSBC says bias against fossil fuels must end
HSBC has said banks need to stop penalising clients with large carbon footprints amid a wider backlash against green finance. Julian Wentzel, who was appointed chief sustainability officer at Europe's largest bank this month, said overly restrictive policies on fossil fuels put energy security at risk. 'Too many people have been negatively biased towards the carbon economy without acknowledging that it plays a very important role from an energy security perspective,' he told Bloomberg. It comes after HSBC announced in November that Celine Herweijer, who was the bank's chief sustainability officer since July 2021, had quit to 'pursue new opportunities'. Her move coincided with a cost-cutting drive by Georges Elhedery, the new HSBC chief executive, and a move to scrap the sustainability role from the bank's executive committee. Mr Elhedery announced last week that the bank was preparing to axe thousands of jobs across Britain as it increases its focus in China. He has been spearheading a radical revamp of the lender that will slash $1.5bn of costs by the end of next year, with its UK operations set to bear the brunt of cost-savings. HSBC also revealed it was retreating from some of its net zero climate targets because it was proving harder to reduce emissions than anticipated. The bank had originally intended to slash emission reduction targets from its supply chain by 2030, but has now pushed this back by 20 years. Many companies have watered down environmental pledges in recent months after the return of Donald Trump to the White House. His campaign slogan of 'drill, baby, drill' formed part of a pledge to ramp up fossil fuel extraction. On Wednesday, Murray Auchincloss, the chief executive of BP, admitted it 'went too far, too fast' in its shift to net zero. The FTSE 100 company said it would increase its oil and gas investment to $10bn (£7.9bn) a year as part of a net zero 'reset' that involves the company slashing spending on renewables. HSBC's Mr Wentzel said companies would be better able to fund the net zero switch if they focused on how to improve spending on low-carbon activities, rather than worrying about cutting spending on fossil fuels. He said: 'A lot of focus has been on how does one constrain or constrict the carbon economy rather than on how one can grow or facilitate the new world energy economy. 'If the world spent more time focusing on that side of the equation, I think the transition will happen faster and capital will flow more easily.'
