Last month, I wrote about a pending Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) plan to pivot from a membership-based organization to a standard-setting one. The plan went to a vote and passed. The NZBA will cease operations immediately. Responsible Investor reports:
“The Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) will no longer be a member-based alliance and will cease operations immediately, a spokesperson has confirmed. In a statement, the spokesperson said members had voted to undertake the transition ‘to establish its guidance as a framework’. ‘As a result of this decision, NZBA will cease operations immediately,’ they added.”
The decision comes after several years of NZBA hemorrhaging membership. Antitrust investigations in the US drove large banks to exit the global organization. Then the NZBA chose to relax rules surrounding climate targets. This led more sustainability-committed organizations to leave. Without significant membership, the NZBA struggled to find a way forward. The organization may see some success in this capacity. Despite leaving the NZBA, almost every departing organization issued a statement reaffirming their commitments to sustainability. If these commitments are sincere, then a sustainability framework for financial institutions could be in demand. We are currently awaiting an updated commitment statement from NZBA to see how their work will proceed as a framework creator. That update is expected before the end of 2025.
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