Read Barclays’ 2018 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report

 “Our success has always been inextricably linked to the progress of the people, communities and businesses that we serve,” said Group CEO, Jes Staley. “By publishing the ESG Report alongside our Annual Report, we’re demonstrating the importance that Barclays places on delivering sustainable value both to society and to our shareholders.”

James E. Staley
Group Chief Executive, Barclays

Delivering on our commitments

2018 marked the end of Barclays’ previous three-year Citizenship plan - the Shared Growth Ambition. This plan achieved strong outcomes against its original objectives, the results of which are detailed in the report published on 21 February.

2018 highlights include:

• Facilitated £27.3bn in financing for specific social and environmental segments across our business. Underlying environmental financing increased to £5.3bn (2017:£4.82bn), driven by a range of capital markets transactions and a growing volume from our dedicated green product portfolio.
• Helped raise $5.16bn in Green, Social and Sustainable Bonds in 2018 according to Dealogic, with the third year of growth in this space with almost twice the volume from 2016, up from $4.73bn in 2017 and $2.24bn in 2016.
• Launched the Barclays Green Home Mortgage, the first green mortgage for retail customers by a mainstream UK bank, and added green trade finance to to our existing offering on green loans, deposits and asset finance.
• Published policy statements on Coal and World Heritage Sites and Ramsar Wetlands, in April 2018, and a comprehensive Energy and Climate Change Statement (which strengthened and replaced our Coal Statement) in January 2019.
• Established an internal Forum to implement the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and participated in pilot climate scenario analysis projects.
• Supported 261,000 people through products, tools and training to enhance their access to financial services, manage their digital security and improve their financial health.
• Helped improve the employability skills of 2.4 million people through our LifeSkills and Connect with Work programmes and supported 90 innovative high-impact ventures as part of our Unreasonable Impact programme.
• Reduced global carbon emissions by 38%, set new targets for emissions reduction and committed to RE100.

Looking forward

Banks play a key role in connecting the providers and users of capital. Barclays recognises this role in serving society, and our success has always been inextricably linked to the progress of the people, communities and businesses that we serve. As society’s expectations of business continue to evolve, we aim to stay ahead of those expectations. It is by focusing on our core products and services, and on our relationships, that we can make the greatest positive impact.

So as we move forward into 2019, our Citizenship and Sustainability work will evolve to align with our new Purpose, and will go further towards improving the positive social and environmental impact of the business we do every day.

Our key focus areas are:

• Capital and products: We will continue to develop opportunities to achieve positive outcomes through the financing solutions and the products and services we provide across the diverse consumer and wholesale client segments we serve.
• Skills and employability: We will scale our partnerships with leading community organisations to address critical skills development and employability opportunities.
• Economic growth: Barclays has been part of the fabric of the UK for over 328 years. In addition to our role in the UK as a leading employer and provider of financial services across all segments of the economy, we will also pursue targeted local economic growth initiatives working in partnership with a range of stakeholders.
• Sustainable innovation: We recognise the role of innovation in solving some of society’s most pressing challenges and the part Barclays can play in supporting new ideas to flourish, and entrepreneurs and ventures to grow and thrive.
• Environmental stewardship: Banks have an important role to play in ensuring the world’s energy needs are met while helping to limit the threat that climate change poses to people and to the natural environment.

Barclays’ 2018 Environmental Social Governance Report provides detailed information on a range of ESG factors and acts as a guide to supporting information across the Annual Report suite and other disclosures.

Additional information, position statements and case studies are available at https://home.barclays/esg and https://home.barclays/citizenship 

Contacts:

Media – Simon Hailes
Media Relations, Barclays
02071164893

For general queries/report feedback: citizenship@barclays.com
For ESG analyst/investor queries: Barclays.IR@barclays.com

Read the Report