Barclays

Barclays demonstrates leading practices in various areas, including governance, stewardship, carbon footprint tracking and target-setting, as well as human rights and lobbying. On governance, decision-making and oversight for its sustainability strategy are assigned to the highest governance body, with performance criteria for senior executive remuneration linked to specific sustainability targets. Implementation responsibility is also delegated to various functions, teams, or committees. With regards to stewardship, it has a stewardship policy that supports environmental transitions and social best practices in line with its sustainability strategy, of which covers client and other stakeholder engagement as well as advocacy and partnerships. It also transparently identifies the key sectors, clients and investees to engage with on climate issues and nature-related impacts. In particular, it engages with clients and investees to influence and support them to set strategies for nature-protection and restoration and partnerships to influence and support sectors, clients and investees to act on their nature-related impacts. As for emissions, it not only monitors its Scope 1-2 emissions, but also emissions resulting from its associated financing activities (Scope 3 category 15) and other Scope 3 emissions by category. Notably, Barclays’s scope 1-3 emissions reduce in line with its interim targets. As part of its data disclosure, it also discloses operational data by country, such as employee numbers. Also noteworthy is that Barclays has a time-bound strategy to phase out the provision of products, services and capital to existing fossil fuel projects and clients and investees across the fossil fuel value chain, which lack a well-defined strategy aligned with a 1.5°C trajectory.

On human rights, Barclays has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights, another policy statement to respect the ILO core labour right as well as a publicly available policy statement expecting suppliers to respect the ILO core labour rights. As for lobbying, not only does Barclay specify that it does not make political contributions, but it also discloses a list of the trade associations of which it is a member, the positions it takes in its lobbying and political engagement activities on sustainability topics and specific actions taken to align its lobbying and public policy engagement with its sustainability strategy.

Key areas where Barclays has scope for improvement in include disclosure relating to its impact materiality strategy, targets and plans, financing activities, its risk assessment processes associated with the ILO fundamental rights at work and its just transition risk mitigation processes. When it comes to impact materiality, it has an opportunity to transparently identify and prioritize its material sustainability impacts across its value chain based on objective criteria and/or supportable evidence, as well as disclose if its impact targets are covered as part of its third-party assurance processes. On its financing activities, while Barclays aims to facilitate $1 trillion in sustainable financing from 2023 to 2030, it should establish measurable targets for climate solutions. There is an opportunity to identify and prioritise sectors with significant nature-related impacts and disclose the monetary value of products and services linked to these areas. Barclays tracks its contribution to the SDGs but should specify financing for nature-positive solutions and set targets for such initiatives. It is also recommended to provide examples of how its offerings support climate adaptation and resilience, disclose client breakdowns by income group, and clarify processes to avoid negative impacts on low-income countries. t is also recommended to provide examples of how its offerings support climate adaptation and resilience, disclose client breakdowns by income group, and clarify processes to avoid negative impacts on low-income countries. Additionally, there is an opportunity for Barclays to refrain from providing products, services, or capital to new fossil fuel projects or clients involved in such projects.

While we acknowledge that Barclays’ risk assessment process for its CIB financing portfolio includes risks associated with the ILO fundamental rights at work for those impacted by its provision of products, services and capital, it has an opportunity to extend the assessment process extended to all financing activities, with disclosures on mitigating identified risks and social risks related to the net zero transition. It should also consider providing examples of actions taken regarding salient human rights issues from recent assessments. On lobbying, it generally demonstrates good practices, but nonetheless, it has an opportunity to formalise its commitment that it will not use its lobbying and political engagement power to impact in directions that would lead to adverse sustainability impacts.

This scorecard refers to information in English which was publicly available by July 15 2024. AuM and Total assets are stated in USD for comparability and have been calculated based on reported local currency values multiplied by applicable IMF currency converter values.