Barclays PLC - Environmental Leadership

Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider and a leader in its sector on environmental responsibility.

Barclays’ major environmental impacts are indirect – through its services.  In recognition of this, the company has pioneered new environmental products and services such as Barclays Capital’s Emissions Trading Desk.  This has been at the forefront of carbon trading, and is now the largest intermediary in the carbon market.  The company is also developing a new ‘green’ credit card that will donate a minimum of £1 million to carbon reduction projects in its first year and a further 50% of its profits in the following years.

To extend its impact further, Barclays has worked collaboratively with the United Nations to develop environmental risk guidance.  The guidance has been made available to some 170 banks worldwide, many of whom fall outside the criteria set by the Equator Principles, helping bankers to better assess environmental risks in their lending activities.  It has also compiled a ‘Protocol for Carbon Accounting and Offsetting’ which is available to any organisation considering offsetting.

With respect to its own operations, Barclays has implemented a five-year programme investing in energy efficiency and made its UK operations carbon neutral for 2006 at a cost of £1.7 million.  This has provided a financial incentive to invest in low-carbon technology to avoid paying offsetting costs.  To raise environmental awareness amongst employees, Barclays has produced a ‘Rough Guide to Saving Energy and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint’, which explains how to reduce carbon emissions at work and at home.