Philippe Wallez: "Banks finance the economy and therefore, by definition, the important transition of companies and individuals towards carbon neutrality. The key is to guide clients in terms of their business, processes, buildings and mobility towards a carbon-free future, using products and advice tailored to their size and maturity on ESG."
Marc Callier: "At the same time, what banks finance largely determines their total emissions - the well-known Scope 3 story. In that sense, we have a common interest with our clients. From there, and realizing that as a sector we can be a great lever for realising the Green Deal ambitions, we do everything we can to keep them well informed, connect them with experts and support them in financing the transition to a low-carbon business model."
"},"alignedImage":{"position":"left","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/4177ebd3-b527-41f7-8388-8fc05aa4ba11/Philippe-Wallez-2","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/1f31383c4443f22b/original/Philippe-Wallez-2.jpg","extension":"jpg"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How do you look at regulations, a determining factor in this story?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Philippe Wallez: "The legislation allows us to develop a clear vision and ditto initiatives. Without these frameworks, without an agreed definition of what is sustainable and what is not, you would run the risk of comparing apples to oranges in terms of reporting. However, the pendulum must not swing toward overregulation, where excessive complexity quickly becomes a barrier."
Banks won't only finance "dark green" projects.
Marc Callier: "The EU Taxonomy is the European framework that determines which activities are considered sustainable. But that does not mean that banks will only finance "dark green" projects and companies with solely sustainable activities. The discontinuity this would create in the economy benefits no one."
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How does ING encourage companies to take action?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Marc Callier: "First and foremost, we need to make sure that all of our bankers can have a constructive conversation about sustainability with their clients. Those trainings are ongoing. You have to remember that the ESG approach is a huge change, both for clients and for our employees. In parallel, we are building the necessary sector-specific expertise through contacts with frontrunners and sector associations.
Secondly, clients must also be able to participate and take action. To this end, we deploy tools such as the Sustainable Buildings Guide that helps companies make their real estate future-proof, put clients in contact with qualitative ESG partners and offer them products with interesting conditions, such as our Eco Renovation Loan."
"},"alignedImage":{"position":"right","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/9721d8e1-8cd4-4eb0-88e4-525e5a3dd6c8/Marc-Callier","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/31d89c9abf249c9d/original/Marc-Callier.png","extension":"png"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"How does ING's approach differ from other major banks?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Philippe Wallez: "ING has been committed to sustainability for years, reflected in our involvement in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, among other things. Sustainability is really in our DNA. We therefore want to offer specific support to any company that wants to invest in the decarbonization of the economy. And we also try to be a role model at our own corporate level, with sustainable buildings and mobility choices."
We must dare to mention that things are going a little slower than expected.
Marc Callier: "Moreover, we don't just focus on the larger companies. Of course, we also offer more complex sustainable finance products and we are a big player in the renewable energy market through ING Lease, but with our instant financing solutions for say solar panels or heat pumps, we are there for everyone."
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"From your perspective, what is needed to accelerate the transition?"},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Marc Callier: "We must dare to mention that things are going a little slower than expected. In a challenging context, with high energy prices and labor costs, entrepreneurs - understandably - focus more on profitability and competitiveness. Important, necessary investments are sometimes put on the back burner. In that light, there seems to be a role for the government to create a playing field that gives everyone a chance to help shape the transition."
Philippe Wallez: "That requires uniformity, transparency and stability. Harmonizing the rules across regions is a must. This will create the space to make a virtue out of a need and approach the challenges in a positive way, as opportunities."
"}},{"componentType":"paragraph","title":"Wondering what ING can do for you?","richBody":{"value":"This article was previously published in Trends/Tendances.
"}}]},"legalZone":{"flexComponents":[{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Society is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. So are our clients, and so is ING. We finance a lot of sustainable activities, but we still finance more that’s not. See how we’re progressing on ing.com/climate.
"}}]}}}