Climate targets BNG validated by Science Based Targets initiative

The renowned Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has reviewed and approved BNG's CO₂e reduction targets. This concerns both the targets for our own business operations and a large part of our loan and bond portfolios, with 2030 as the target year. This validation shows that our climate targets are scientifically underpinned and fit in with the scenario in which global warming is limited to a maximum of 1.5°C.

The SBTi develops standards, tools and guidelines to enable organisations to set scientifically based emission reduction targets that are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. These are considered the “gold standard” for setting credible climate targets. Philippine Risch BNG CEO: ‘The approval of our climate targets by the SBTi confirms that we have set a robust course for reducing our CO₂e emissions, and we are pleased with that. We attach a great deal of importance to making our organisation and our customers more sustainable, which is why we are happy to review our objectives independently in this area. This fits in perfectly with our ambition to build a future-proof Netherlands together with our public partners.’

Scope of the validation

In our Going Green climate plan, we set absolute emission reduction targets for the entire loan portfolio and relative emission reduction targets for the four largest customer sectors. The SBTi has assessed the relative emission reduction targets by sector and asset class, except those for (semi-)governments, because the SBTi has not yet developed a methodology for this.

Our approved climate targets according to the official SBTi standard

Own business operations (scope 1 and 2)
BNG commits to reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 100% by 2030 from a 2018 base year and commits to active annual sourcing of 100% renewable electricity from 2018 through 2030.

Portfolio targets (scope 3)
BNG’s portfolio targets cover 49% of its total investments and lending by total balance sheet assets as of 2023. As of that year, required activities made up 49% of BNG’s total investments and lending by total balance sheet assets, while optional activities made up 10% and out-of-scope activities made up 41%.

Validated targets per asset category:

Asset Class	Method	Objective
Corporate loans: commercial real estate	Sector Decarbonization Approach (SDA)	BNG commits to reduce all in-use operational CO₂ emissions from its real estate loan portfolio 63% per square meter by 2030 compared from a 2018 base year.
Electricity generation project finance	SDA	BNG commits to continue providing electricity generation project finance for only renewable electricity through 2030.
Private debt, corporate and SME bonds	Portfolio Coverage	BNG commits to 68.5% of its private debt, corporate and SME bond portfolio by outstanding loan amount setting SBTi-validated targets by 2030 from a 2023 base year.