Press release 8 September 2026

More than half of banking firms with net zero pledges have no published transition plan

ESG Banking Barometer also finds reported mortgage emissions vary 4.5-fold between firms and imply UK household emissions 34% above government estimate

More than half of UK and Irish banking firms that have made a net zero commitment have not published a transition plan explaining how they intend to achieve it, according to Perigon Partners’ fourth annual ESG Banking Barometer.

The Barometer assesses public disclosures from 60 banks, building societies and fintechs representing more than 90% of UK and Irish retail and commercial banking assets.

Forty of the firms assessed have set a net zero target, but only 19 have published a transition plan. That leaves 21 firms with a public net zero pledge but no published roadmap for delivering it.

The finding comes as the Prudential Regulation Authority’s Supervisory Statement SS5/25 sets an expectation that firms with net zero targets have a delivery plan in place. The Barometer assesses publicly available disclosures and therefore does not determine whether firms without a published plan have an internal one.

Emma Walford, CEO and co-founder of Perigon Partners, said:

“Without a plan explaining how it will be delivered, a net zero pledge risks becoming little more than a vague ambition. Twenty-one firms have made that pledge without publishing how they intend to meet it. With regulators now expecting firms to have credible delivery plans in place, the gap between ambition and execution is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.”

The Barometer also identifies significant inconsistencies in the way banks report emissions from residential mortgages.

Among 17 firms reporting mortgage emissions intensity, disclosed figures range from 11.4 to 50.8 kgCO2e per square metre – a 4.5-fold difference across what is, comparatively, a relatively homogenous asset class.

Two firms use a loan-to-value weighted calculation, which understates intensity against the PCAF standard all reporting firms say they follow. Adjusting for this narrows the range to 2.8-fold, but substantial variation remains.

Differences in reported PCAF data quality scores explain only around 5% of the variation. Current disclosures do not allow investors to determine how much of the remaining gap reflects genuinely different mortgage portfolios and how much reflects differences in calculation methodology.

Aggregating the reported intensities produces an implied estimate of 88.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent for UK residential property – 34% above the government consumption-based estimate of 66.0 million tonnes.

Perigon says the discrepancy highlights the need to test financed-emissions calculations against real-world benchmarks before relying on them for investment or risk decisions.

Emma Walford added:

“Financed-emissions metrics and the broader PCAF framework are intended to help investors compare one bank's lending book with another's. On this evidence, they cannot yet do that reliably. Until calculation methods and disclosures become more consistent, it remains difficult to distinguish genuinely lower carbon lending and lower transition risk from methodological differences.”

Among firms with net zero targets, the proportion with interim targets fell from 82% to 70%. Ten firms also fail to specify which emissions scopes their net zero commitment covers, compared with three last year.

Six firms strengthened interim targets during the year while seven reduced them, pointing to a mixed picture as firms revisit the assumptions and pathways underpinning their commitments.

About Perigon Partners

Perigon Partners is a B Corp certified consultancy specialising in the integration of corporate strategy and sustainability. Founders Emma Walford and Nick Walford previously held executive roles at large UK banks, where they led strategy and sustainability at Executive Committee and Board level for more than 15 years. Perigon has worked at the intersection of sustainability and strategy for more than 5 years. Perigon was shortlisted as a finalist in the 2026 Great British Entrepreneurs’ Awards, Services Business category.