Nordea bank is collaborating with the SME Climate Hub and nudging small and medium-sized corporate customers to commit and report via the Hub, piloting the Net-Zero Commitment Loan in Sweden and Denmark with favourable terms for companies that do so.
The SME Climate Hub is a global initiative that aims to mainstream climate action in the small to medium sized business community, and enable SMEs to build resilient businesses for the future. It was founded by the We Mean Business Coalition, Exponential Roadmap Initiative and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Race to Zero campaign in collaboration with Oxford University and Normative.
Nina Arkilahti, Head of Business Banking at Nordea, said.
Small companies are typically good at creating business and growth, but it might be difficult to find the needed resources for planning their climate transition. Driving the transition is a common effort and we can support with tools and solutions to get started. With climate transition plans in place companies can better meet the growing demands from customers, investors and authorities and can safely expand. It’s about future-proofing the business and we can support our customers’ ambitions.
Louise Rehbinder, Director, Exponential Roadmap Initiative:
Regulators increasingly want to see credible climate action from business. New regulation will first affect large companies, but small and medium sized enterprises will soon be impacted as they are part of global value chains. Small businesses in particular need positive incentives to act even before these regulations come into effect. Nordea’s Net-Zero Commitment Loan provides SMEs with this support, and the climate action tools on the SME Climate Hub help them move through the rest of their journey.
Johan Falk, CEO and Co-founder, Exponential Roadmap Initiative:
SMEs are key to the net zero transformation as they can effectively create and scale the next generation of climate solutions. In order for SMEs to stay competitive and grow their business, we need to provide them with the opportunity to build their company in line with the transition towards net zero. We very much welcome Nordea’s program and partnership, and we expect many more banks to follow suit.
