Our Transition to Net Zero

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that the world faces, impacting every person on the planet through weather events such as extreme heat, forest fires, severe rainfall and flooding.

At UniCredit, we are committed to playing our part. We are striving to reduce our direct and indirect environmental impacts while supporting Europe’s green transition. In this context, we committed to Net Zero in October 2021 when we joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), targeting Net Zero on our own emissions by 2030 and on financed emissions by 2050.

Since then, we put in place concrete actions to achieve Net Zero on our own emissions. We also set interim 2030 targets to reduce our financed emissions on three of the most carbon-intensive sectors¹ (Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Automotive) in our loan portfolio. We are now complementing this first set of targets with the addition of the Steel sector, in alignment with the methodology and timeline outlined in the Sustainable STEEL Principles, of which UniCredit is a founder.

In the coming months, we will establish Net Zero 2030 interim targets for other carbon-intensive sectors, such as Real Estate. In this further round of target setting, the small and low materiality sectors will not initially be considered. However, we will continue to monitor them to ensure our approach remains open for future adjustments, if necessary.

Our inaugural transition plan

In line with NZBA requirements and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) recommendations, we are proud to disclose our inaugural transition plan, a further important step in our Net Zero journey. 

Since joining the NZBA, we have established our first sectoral targets and identified actions needed to achieve them. In 2023, we dedicated significant effort to designing and setting up the internal engine needed to make our targets operational, involving all the relevant functions of the Bank to deploy the actions identified. The first months of 2024 will focus on turning our commitment into actions, cascading the Net Zero transition plan to the whole Group.

The following sections illustrate the key content of our transition plan. In line with the GFANZ guidelines for financial institutions, our plan covers:

Foundation

Our ambition and progress on our own emissions

Even though financed emissions account for most of our climate impact, the management of our own environmental footprint is also key to becoming a Net Zero bank. Our ambition is to reach Net Zero on own emissions (Scope 1 and 2, market-based) by 2030.

As of 2023, we have reduced our own GHG emissions by 28% versus 2021 by procuring electricity from renewable energy sources, improving the energy efficiency of our premises and data centres and promoting sustainable mobility solutions for our employees.

Our ambition and progress on financed emissions

UniCredit is committed to reducing its financed emissions (Scope 3, Category 15). As mentioned, to prioritise the actions required on our loan portfolio, we first set interim 2030 targets on Oil & Gas, Power Generation and Automotive, three of the most carbon-intensive sectors in our portfolio. We have now defined our 2030 targets for the Steel sector, and will then set interim targets for other sectors with material impact by October 2024.

Since setting our first Net Zero targets in 2023, emissions decreased for the Oil & Gas sector, as well as physical intensity for the Power Generation sector, in line with their transition trajectories. Physical intensity remained quite stable for Automotive mainly due to a change in the granularity of data used for emissions baseline estimation. Further details on our progress and action plans by sector are provided in the Metrics & Targets section of this page.

Engagement strategy

Our engagement strategy outlines how we can cost effectively  engage key stakeholders in the transition path. These stakeholders include our clients, as well as financial institutions, industry led associations, regulators, governments, and policymakers. Please download our report for more information.

Implementation strategy

A key pillar of UniCredit’s transition plan is our implementation strategy, which defines how we integrate Net Zero considerations into all our core business activities and decision-making processes. There are five main components to this strategy:

Metrics & Targets

Financed emissions

After joining the Net Zero Banking Alliance in 2021, with a Net Zero ambition for our portfolio by 2050, in 2023 we disclosed our first 2030 targets for Oil & Gas, Power Generation and Automotive, three of the most carbon-intensive sectors in our portfolio. We are now monitoring our decarbonisation progress against these targets, while also disclosing our first target for an additional Metrics & Targets carbon-intensive sector, Steel. By the end of 2024, we will establish Net Zero 2030 interim targets for other material sectors, such as Real Estate. In this second round of target setting for the NZBA carbon-intensive sectors, the small and low-material sectors will not be considered. However, we will continue to monitor them to ensure our approach remains adaptable for future adjustments, if necessary.

Governance

Over the last years, we have continued to evolve our organisation to further integrate climate-related criteria into the Group Strategy. In support of our commitment to Net Zero, the most recent updates to our approach to ESG governance include the establishment of a dedicated Net Zero project at Group level, which was initially set up in 2022 and is led by a cross-functional team. This project brings together ESG, Finance, Risk Management, Business and Digital to identify and implement the key actions needed to define and support our transition strategy.

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