23-11-2023 10:00

How we help small businesses get started with their net-zero plans

Nordea now offers an enhanced toolbox for small and medium-sized companies that would like to get started with net-zero transition plans.
Businessman working on his tablet

While many larger companies in the Nordics are quite far with integrating sustainability into their business, smaller companies often find it challenging to get started. How to measure and report, which targets make sense for a smaller company and how to plan accordingly. Larger companies can often hire ESG expertise or outsource part of the work to consultants, but for smaller companies with limited resources this can seem like an unclimbable mountain.

At Nordea, we are therefore continuously expanding our products and services, so it becomes easier for businesses to get started.

Our collaboration with SME Climate Hub enhances the range of tools and support available. The SME Climate Hub is a non-profit global initiative that helps small and medium-sized enterprises transition to a net zero future. When companies join the hub, they commit to halving their emissions by 2030 and to becoming net zero by 2050 at the latest. In return, they gain access to online reporting tools, support materials and courses to help them get started.

Carbon calculator for businesses 

Another useful tool is the Business Carbon Calculator, which we offer together with our partner Normative. The calculator is optimised for SMEs operating in a single market and is free to use. For larger companies with more complex needs, Normative offers a fee-based version with increased data granularity and tailored reduction planning with support from their climate experts. Normative’s fee-based products and services are available at a discount to all Nordea customers.

Nina Arkilahti, Head of Business Banking at Nordea.

"Small companies are typically good at creating business and growth, but it might be difficult to find the needed resources for planning their climate transition. Driving the transition is a common effort and we can support with tools and solutions to get started. With climate transition plans in place companies can better meet the growing demands from customers, investors and authorities and can safely expand. It’s about future-proofing the business and we can support our customers’ ambitions,” says Nina Arkilahti, Head of Business Banking at Nordea.

Solutions keep evolving – latest addition is the Net-Zero Commitment Loan 

The range of finance solutions has evolved during the past few years. The latest addition, which will now be piloted in Denmark and Sweden, is a Net-Zero Commitment Loan. Customers that commit to halving their emissions by 2030 and to becoming net zero by 2050 at the latest can get a loan on favourable terms if they commit and report via the SME Climate Hub. Nordea is a frontrunner in offering this solution. We hope it will encourage even more customers to commit to climate transition and net zero.

During spring we also launched the Sustainability Guarantee in cooperation with the European Investment Fund to support SMEs in accelerating the transition to a green and sustainable economy (currently available to customers in Finland and Sweden). Other available finance options are Green loans and Sustainability-linked loans and Verde loans (in Finland and Sweden). The range is supplemented with savings solutions, where the latest addition is Deposits with climate focus, currently available in Norway and Sweden.

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