International banking group Standard Chartered announced that it generated $1.07 billion in income from sustainable finance activity in 2025, growing by 9% year-over-year, and surpassing its target its goal to reach $1 billion in annual income from sustainable finance by 2025.
Announced with the release of the bank’s 2025 annual report, Standard Chartered also revealed that it has reached its goal to be net zero in its own operations, including Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, achieving a 96% reduction in carbon footprint since 2018.
By business unit, Standard Chartered’s Banking business represented the bulk of its sustainable finance income for the year at $610 million, increasing from $552 million in 2024, while Transaction Services – which includes Payments & Liquidity, Securities & Prime Services, and Trade & Working Capital – represented $340 million, up from $319 million, and Markets accounted for $117 million, increasing from $111 million last year.
Standard Chartered’s Banking unit’s sustainable finance income was also the fastest-growing, rising 11% in the year, driven in part by particularly strong growth in capital markets and advisory, which grew by 42% in 2025 to $64 million.
The bank also reported progress towards its goal to mobilize $300 billion in sustainable finance by 2030, reaching $157 billion as of the end of 2025, up from $123 billion the prior year.
Standard Chartered’s goal to reach net zero in operations by 2025 formed part of the bank’s target to reach net zero by 2050, including in its supply chain and financed emissions. In its annual report, Standard Chartered revealed that its Scope 1 and 2 emissions have declined to 6 ktCO2e from a baseline of 148 ktCO2e in 2018. The bank outlined several of the levers it has utilized to reach net zero, including energy efficiency improvements across its property portfolio, achieving 100% renewable energy for Scope 2, implementing solar installations across 52 sites in 17 markets, certifying 130 buildings across its offices and branches with green building certifications, and integrating green leasing principles into its corporate real estate strategy.
Scope 3 financed emissions account for the vast majority of Standard Chartered’s GHG footprint. The bank released its inaugural Transition Plan last year, outlining its detailed plan to achieve its climate goals, including its target to reach net zero emissions across its financing activities by 2050.
Alongside the sustainable finance and net zero achievements, Standard Chartered also announced progress in their sustainability reporting efforts, with the annual report including disclosure of the bank’s financed methane emissions intensity within its upstream oil and gas portfolio for the first time, as well as the bank’s first Nature Report, in line with its adoption of the TNFD framework.
Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer at Standard Chartered, said:
“From scaling sustainable and inclusive growth through new and innovative financing, to delivering against our commitment to be net zero in our own operations, strengthening our ESG ratings, and adding nature and methane to our suite of sustainability disclosures – we’re continuing to deliver against our strategic ambitions.”
