Arion Bank joins SBTi and Net-Zero Banking Alliance

Arion Bank has pledged to follow the methodology of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) when setting emission reduction targets in the Bank’s lending activities and investments. The Bank has also joined the UN-convened Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a global group of banks committed to financing ambitious climate action to transition the real economy to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Arion Bank CEO Benedikt Gíslason signed commitment statements to these two initiatives and the Bank will work towards getting SBTi to validate its science-based climate targets within the next two years. The aim of these targets is to keep global warming below 1.5 C° and for Arion Bank to be net zero by 2040.

Membership of both the Net-Zero Banking Alliance and SBTi represents a key step in the Bank’s sustainability journey. How a bank manages and shares its financial resources can have a decisive impact on the progress of sustainable development in individual countries and globally. Arion Bank’s environment and climate policy states that the Bank wants to help Iceland become carbon neutral by 2040 and joining these initiatives contributes towards reaching these targets.