Specialist lender Cambridge & Counties Bank has joined the UK chapter of Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide focused on developing harmonized assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions financed by loans and investments.

Set up originally in 2015, the PCAF now has around 450 financial institutions from six continents as members and is expanding in the UK, Europe and across the world.

Aligned with the Paris Agreement accords from the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21), objectives of the PCAF include developing a GHG accounting standard and making GHG accounting common practice within the financial sector.

Participants such as Cambridge & Counties Bank work together to develop and implement a harmonized approach to assess and disclose the GHG emissions associated with their loans and investments.

PCAF membership is the latest sustainability-led initiative by Cambridge & Counties Bank and forms part of a long-term, wider ESG programme for the bank. Last year, for instance, it achieved B Corp Certification, one of the most comprehensive and prestigious independent assessments that recognises a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.

Donald Kerr (pictured), Chief Executive Officer at Cambridge & Counties Bank said: “PCAF membership is an important next step for us as we look to play a significant role in the drive towards greater sustainability in the UK banking sector. In doing so we continue to offer highly competitive, dedicated lending solutions for all our clients, many of whom often have complex financing requirements, but with solutions as well as governance procedures aligned to sector best-practice.”