Description
About the ESG Implementation Study 2024 (zeb) – Germany
zeb conducted the ESG study in cooperation with the Liechtenstein Bankers Association. Together with relevant experts, 37 questions were developed and validated. They can be assigned to five overarching fields of action:
- Competitive positioning
- Net-zero ambition and management
- Risk management
- Data management
- Business opportunities
Insights into the content and results of our ESG study
The majority of Europe’s banks are still at the beginning of the transformation towards sustainability!
This is reflected by the results of our survey of 36 large, state and domestic-oriented banks operating in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or internationally. The responses from the surveyed institutions – the majority of which were provided by board members and ESG officers – resulted in an average “ESG maturity level” of around 34%.[1]
Cautious assessment of ESG expertise
However, our survey also reveals that most banks are cautious when assessing their ESG expertise in the areas of competitive positioning, net-zero emissions, risk and data management, and business opportunities.
Most of the respondents approach the reduction of emissions to net zero with different targets, do not yet take sufficient account of ESG-related risks, consider data management to be a major challenge due to the lack of availability of ESG data, and leave potential in selling ESG products and services untapped. According to zeb’s assessment, the majority of the institutions are at the first of three levels in these key ESG fields of action.
To achieve full “ESG maturity”, banks need to focus particularly on improving their ESG data literacy, …
… firmly integrate ESG factors into management processes as well as governance structures, and fully involve all stakeholders in the further ESG transformation – true to the motto “Inform rather than preach”, banks should step up and assume their ESG guiding role.
[1] An ESG maturity level of 100% would mean that an institution fully embodies the positive responses to the questions asked.
Focus and relevance of the ESG study
In the survey, we focused primarily on the “E” in ESG. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Perception Survey 2024, environmental risks such as extreme weather events, declining biodiversity and the shortage of natural resources are at the top of the threat scale.
The risks of climate change for the economy, politics and society are clearly outlined and highly relevant – both in the short and long term. This zeb study stems from the experience that many banks are facing major challenges when it comes to ESG. We see this study as an incentive for all banks to continue to climb the steps towards ESG maturity. After all, taking environmental, social and governance factors into account pays off – as the “pioneers” identified in this study prove.
What’s more, despite all the challenges, ESG will remain a core task for Europe’s banks. Since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed in 2015, the number of new ESG-related laws and regulatory measures in the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein has multiplied. Many of the ever new requirements not only include additional reporting obligations, requiring data that is difficult to obtain or often barely available, but also have a direct impact on processes and business models. An end to the flood of political and regulatory ideas is currently not in sight.
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