Our sustainability targets

To achieve this and to be an even more sustainable bank than we are today, we have fully integrated sustainability into our business strategy. Our focus will be on the sustainability topics in which we can have a significant impact – and setting targets and objectives in line with that.

Our significant sustainability topics were identified through a combined materiality and impact analysis and then grouped into four strategic pillars: climate action, social responsibility, governance and culture and financial strength

2050 long-term objective

2030 mid-term objective

 

Full list of Nordea’s sector targets:

The sector targets cover Nordea's lending portfolio and will guide Nordea’s work to support its customers’ journeys to reduce emissions and accelerate the transition of the economy. Our first round of sector targets was launched in December 2022 and covered shipping, residential real estate, oil and gas and thermal peat mining. At the end of 2023, Nordea also set additional targets for power production and agriculture. In February 2024 the sector target for cars and vans was published. 

 

Sector 

Sub-sector 

 

Emissions scope 

Metric 

Benchmark scenario 

Base year 

Target year 

Target 

Shipping 

Vessels 

AER, gCO2/dwt-nm 

Poseidon principles (IMO 2050) 

2019 

2030 

-30% 

Residential Real Estate 

Households and tenant-owner associations 

1, 2 

kgCO2e/m2 

Utility sector NDC1, CRREM 

2019 

2030 

-40-50% 

Agriculture 

Crops, plantation and hunting, and Animal husbandry 

1, 2 

tCO2e/EURm 

National sector targets and SBTi FLAG3 

2021 

2030 

-40-50% 

Motor vehicles

Cars and vans

15

gCO2e/km

 

IEA NZE2

 

2022

 

2030

-40%

Power Production 

Electricity generation 

1, 2 

gCO2e/kWh 

IEA NZE2 

SBTi 1.5C 

 

2021 

2030 

-70% 

Oil and Gas 

Exploration and Production 

1, 2, 3  

tCO2e4 

IEA NZE2 

2019 

2030 

-55% 

Offshore 

Drilling rigs and offshore service vessels within Oil and Gas and Shipping 

EURm 

2019 

2025 

-100% 

Mining  

Thermal peat mining 

EURm 

IEA NZE2 

2022 

2025 

-100% 

Thermal coal mining 

EURm 

IEA NZE2 

Restrictive policy. Full phase-out achieved 2021. 

1 Combined, NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) plus renovation decarbonisation and building stock turnover decarbonisation (conservative estimates). 

2 A normative IEA scenario that shows a pathway for the global energy sector to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050 and is consistent with limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 °C without a temperature overshoot (with a 50% probability), in line with reductions assessed by the IPCC in its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C

3 National sector targets and Science Based Targets Initiative Forestry, Land and Agriculture (SBTi FLAG) include both GHG-emission reductions and carbon removals 

4 Including methane emissions in CO2 equivalents for scopes 1 and 2. 
5 Scope 1 covers emissions tank-to-wheel.

2023-2025 targets

Climate action

  • Facilitate more than EUR 200bn in sustainable financing by the end of 2025.
     
  • Ensure that 90% of our exposure to large corporate customers in climate-vulnerable sectors is covered by transition plans by the end of 2025.
     
  • By 2025, ensure that 80% of the top 200 financed emissions contributors in Nordea Asset Management’s portfolios are either aligned with the Paris Agreement or subject to active engagement to become aligned.
     
  • Double the share of net-zero-committed AuM by 2025.
     
  • Grow gross inflows from the sustainable selection universe to account for 33% of total fund gross inflows by the end of 2025.
     
  • Reduce the carbon footprint from Nordea Life & Pension’s listed equity, corporate bond and real estate portfolios by at least 25% by the end of 2024.
     
  • All asset managers* managing assets on behalf of Nordea Life & Pension must commit, no later than 2024, to transitioning their assets under management to net-zero by 2050.
     
  • Total carbon reduction from internal operations of 30% compared with 2019 by the end of 2023.
     
  • Suppliers covering 80% of spend are either aligned with the Paris Agreement or subject to active engagement to become aligned by 2025.

*All managers in liquid asset classes and selected managers in illiquid asset classes.

Social responsibility

  • Each gender has at least 40% representation at the top three leadership levels* combined by the end of 2025.
     
  • With a minimum average index score of 92, respondents** feel they have been treated fairly regardless of gender, gender identity, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, (dis)ability, etc. by the end of 2023.
     
  • All direct investments in companies made by funds managed directly by Nordea Asset Management are assessed against the minimum safeguards in the area of human rights (in line with the EU taxonomy) by the end of 2023.
     
  • Human rights impact assessment of the supply chain in place by the end of 2023.

*Group Leadership Team (GLT), GLT-1 and GLT-2

**To Nordea's employee engagement survey.

Governance and culture

  • 100% of new suppliers* screened for sustainability issues like country risk, sector risk, carbon intensive sectors, investment exclusion list, negative ESG events via media screening and regulatory actions.
     
  • Integrate sustainability into people processes covering purpose and values, employee value proposition and variable pay goals by the end of 2023.

*Covering all contracted suppliers that are available in the screening system.

Financial strength

  • Risk management framework for ESG risks in place by the end of 2023.
     
  • Risk assessments in place for the sectors and customers most vulnerable to climate risk by the end of 2023.