Renewables: Citizens Bank Targets US$50bn Green Finance

Citizens Financial Group’s 2024 Sustainability & Impact Report outlines how the bank is deepening its ESG performance while aligning business growth with climate and community goals.

The report shows how Citizens is working across corporate governance, emissions reduction, finance and workforce inclusion to support clients and communities, while targeting US$50bn in sustainable finance by 2030.

The bank’s approach links long-term value creation with accountability, using frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the CDP for climate disclosure.

Citizens also continues to track financed emissions using global standards and reports its environmental performance alongside community development work and internal diversity targets.

Governance and ethics shape climate oversight

At board level, Citizens maintains a governance structure with 12 of its 13 directors classified as independent.

The board’s average tenure stands at 6.4 years and its committees are responsible for oversight across risk, ethics, compensation and AI.

Climate risk and cybersecurity are both addressed as part of the bank’s enterprise-wide risk management framework.

Directors receive annual training on emerging threats and risks, including those related to climate change, cyberthreats and generative AI.

Citizens also achieved a score of 87.1 on the 2024 Center for Political Accountability-Zicklin Index, which measures ethical corporate governance and transparency in political spending.

“We understand that climate change and the global transition to a lower-carbon economy bring challenges and new opportunities for our clients, our business, and the communities we serve,” explains Bruce Van Saun, Chairman and CEO of Citizens Financial Group. 

“Our approach centers on three strategic priorities: partnering with our clients, deepening our capabilities and minimising our own impact. 

“As we make progress towards our 2030 US$50 billion sustainable finance target, which includes a US$5 billion green sub-target, we participated in seven transactions across a range of eligible green activities. 

“We established a new target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) emissions 29% by 2030, compared to a 2023 base year, and matched 100% of our electricity consumption using renewable energy credits (RECs) generated through our Virtual Power Purchase Agreement.”

Citizens also set a new climate target, aiming to cut Scope 1 and 2 (location-based) emissions by 29% by 2030 from a 2023 baseline.

In 2024, the bank matched 100% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy credits (RECs) sourced through a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Danish energy firm Ørsted.

Progress on emissions, green finance and training

Citizens is currently on track to reach its 2030 target for cutting location-based emissions, recording a 7.6% reduction in 2024.

This result comes despite an increase in Scope 1 emissions due to an expansion in the bank’s vehicle fleet.

A major element of the bank’s environmental strategy involves green finance.

In 2024, Citizens arranged more than US$252m in green finance transactions across renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable water projects.

It also launched its first disclosure of financed emissions aligned to the standards of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a methodology used by financial institutions to measure and disclose the emissions linked to lending and investment portfolios.

To support clients on their sustainability journeys, the bank rolled out new training in climate and sustainable finance to all commercial, business and wealth managers working at the front line.

Citizens operates around 1,000 branches and manages more than 3,100 automated teller machines (ATMs), giving it broad exposure to both client operations and energy usage.

Workforce, equity and local investment

In addition to environmental goals, Citizens' ESG strategy supports internal career development, gender pay equity and community partnerships.

In 2024, the bank launched a new platform called Talent Matters, offering employees personalised career planning and skills support.

Some 88% of staff participated in professional and compliance training, logging more than 420,000 hours.

Citizens invested US$10m in workforce development programmes for local communities and reinforced its diversity and inclusion work through seven internal Business Resource Groups (BRGs).

An organisational health survey saw inclusion score 86% overall — the highest-rated category.

Gender pay reviews showed women earn 99% of what men do in comparable roles.

On the community side, Citizens delivered US$1.5bn in financing for development projects, contributing to more than 5,000 new affordable housing units.

It also lent US$4.5bn in mortgages to underserved communities and made US$357m in small business loans.

A further US$20m in philanthropic contributions supported financial literacy, digital access and skills training.

The bank expanded its sabbatical programme for employee volunteering and recorded nearly 250,000 volunteer hours, a new high, contributed by nearly 10,000 staff.

Citizens’ alignment to global ESG standards and its continued investments in people, technology and environmental performance reflect its stated ambition for responsible leadership.