Ambitions and goals

SEB has developed three proprietary metrics to steer our business in line with our sustainability strategy, and to measure our progress in the transition towards a low-carbon society – a Carbon Exposure Index (The Brown), a Sustainability Activity Index (The Green). In addition, SEB has developed Transition Ratio (The Future).

Through these, we aim to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable society by reducing our negative impact (The Brown), increasing our positive impact (The Green), and engaging with our customers on their transition journeys (The Future). These customer dialogues enable us to classify our credit portfolio and to set interim 2030 targets regarding our financed emissions, as part of our strive for net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner.

Carbon Exposure Index

Goal: To reduce fossil fuel exposure by
45-60% by 2030, compared
to a 2019 baseline.

Sustainability Activity Index

Ambition: To increase average
activity 6x-8x by 2030,
compared to a 2021 baseline.

Transition Ratio

Ambition: To provide a view of how well our customers’ transition plans are aligned with the Paris Agreement.

Carbon Exposure Index – The Brown

The Carbon Exposure Index is a volume-based metric capturing our fossil fuel credit exposure. Our goal is to reduce the fossil credit exposure in SEB’s energy portfolio, which includes power generation and transmission as well as oil and gas (upstream-related and refining & distribution), by 45–60 per cent by 2030 compared with a 2019 baseline.

Reaching this goal means that we will be in line with, or outperform, the strictest 1.5°C
scenario assumptions provided by the International Energy Agency and Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS).

At year-end 2022, the Carbon Exposure Index had decreased by 17 per cent compared to 2019, which is in line with the 2030 trajectory. The outcome reflects SEB's strategy to actively engage with customers striving to transition their operations and to support them in their transition plans.

Sustainability Activity Index – The Green

The Sustainability Activity Index is a volume-based metric capturing our sustainability activity, across four areas:

Sustainability-related financing
Sustainable finance advisory
Greentech venture capital investments
Sustainable savings (in line with the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, SFDR, Article 9 funds), as share of SEB’s total fund offering, own and external.

The ambition is to increase activity 6–8 times by 2030 compared with a 2021 baseline. At year-end 2022, the index had increased by 59 per cent.
The Green and its four parts

Transition Ratio – The Future

The Transition Ratio is built on SEB’s internal Customer Sustainability Classification tool (CSC). Based on the exposure in our credit portfolio, the CSC tool assesses and classifies to what extent our customers’ transition plans are aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

At year-end 2022, the Transition Ratio was 69 per cent. This was based on the credit exposure in 2021 and the assessments carried out in 2022. The ratio provides insight into our customers' progress and can be used for further analysis and action to support them on their transition journeys.
SEB’s climate-related metrics and targets

Net-zero aligned 2030 sector targets for SEB’s credit portfolio

SEB is one of 42 founding signatories of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). In line with our sustainability strategy and our commitment to NZBA, SEB has committed to align its credit portfolio with pathways to net-zero by 2050 or sooner, and to set interim targets for 2030. The targets are in line with the ambition to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

Sector targets

The 2030 sector targets are set against a 2020 baseline and initially cover SEB’s lending and commitments to the oil & gas, power generation, steel, car manufacturing and Swedish household mortgage sectors. These sector targets strengthen and complement SEB’s ambitions and goals within the climate area, The Brown, The Green and The Future.

For oil & gas (exploration, production and refining), the target is a 55 per cent reduction in absolute financed emissions by 2030 compared with the 2020 baseline.
For power generation, the 2030 target is a 43 per cent reduction in financed emission intensity.
For steel, the 2030 target is a 30 per cent reduction in financed emission intensity.
For car manufacturing, the 2030 target is a 60 per cent reduction in financed emission intensity.
For Swedish household mortgages, the 2030 target is a 30 per cent reduction in financed emission intensity.

Sector	Emissions, scope	Metric	2020 baseline	2030 target
Oil & Gas E&P¹⁾ and refining	S1&2&3²⁾	mtCO₂e³⁾	18.4	8.3 (-55%)
Power generation	S1&2	g CO₂e/kWh	123	70 (-43%)
Steel	S1&2	t CO₂e/t steel	1.40	0.98 (-30%)
Car manufacturing	S3⁴⁾	g CO₂e/km	153	61 (-60%)
Household mortgage Sweden	S1&2	kg CO₂e/m²	3.12	2.18 (-30%)
¹⁾ Exploration & Production ²⁾ S3 - use of sold products ³⁾ Financed emissions ⁴⁾ Use of sold products – Tank To Wheel

The 2030 targets are an important part of SEB’s goal to reach a net-zero credit portfolio by 2050 or sooner. We have now developed a methodology that helps us to define our baseline and to measure progress towards that goal. In parallel, we have started to integrate our 2030 targets in our decision-making and governance.

Moving forward and in line with our commitment to the NZBA, we will set additional targets for other carbon-intensive sectors. We also plan to refine our methodology as data availability and quality improve and updated climate scenarios and decarbonization pathways are developed.

More information about the targets and the method used

SEB’s sustainability experts have extensive knowledge in areas such as climate and financing solutions, sustainable investments and regulatory development in the European Union.

Reach out to our sustainability contacts