Executive Summary

Banks face growing pressure from consumers and shareholders to make sustainability a higher priority. That’s a challenge for an industry that, for example, has financed $3.8 trillion for fossil fuel clients since the 2015 Paris Agreement. Banks may consider finding a way to balance a shift toward sustainability with sustaining their profits.

Key Question: Why should banks start taking action on sustainability today?

KEY STAT: Younger consumers, who rate climate change as a much greater threat than their older peers do, are far more likely to use ESG investment tools and choose or switch banks according to their ethics or “purpose.”