Finance and capital markets

Finance is the engine behind all economic activity. Carbon is embedded in every financial agreement and transaction, released over the life of a contract. This makes finance pivotal to decarbonising the global economy.
Investors and financial institutions face significant financial, physical and transition risks if they fail to address the climate impacts tied to the businesses they finance.
As climate regulations evolve and tighten, protecting your business requires proactive action. Ensure your clients identify and mitigate climate risks in every transaction to safeguard against potential future liabilities.
Climate risk is investment risk
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock (source)
Sector Relationship Manager – Finance and Capital Markets
Incorporating climate considerations into contracts and pre-contract documents helps reduce carbon emissions and allows for early identification and mitigation of climate risks.
Climate-aligned contracts also enable parties to create customised solutions that align with their business objectives and accelerate the transition to net zero.
This approach encourages businesses to seize market opportunities in green technology, renewable energy, green transport and sustainable farming. It also enhances an organisation’s reputation by showcasing its commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
“This project has been a fantastic learning opportunity and energising to feel we are genuinely doing our bit to make a difference. We are really proud to be an early adopter in this space.”
Kenny Robertson, Head of Outsourcing, Technology & IP legal team at NatWest
NatWest introduced sustainability clauses across their standard supply contracts, updating these templates to reflect the bank’s climate ambitions.
These clauses support and incentivise reductions in Scope 3 emissions and give NatWest the right to terminate supply chain contracts with suppliers who fail to improve their sustainability rating.
“TCLP’s climate clauses are a practical and useful solution to mitigate climate change and rewire the economy. Every financing agreement using these clauses represents an opportunity to promote large-scale change towards net zero.”
Bruno Ferreira, Partner at PLMJ
Portuguese law firm PLMJ used TCLP climate clauses across lending facilities amounting to EUR150 million. These contracts contain sustainability-linked requirements that incentivise borrowers to achieve set climate targets.
We’re a non-profit organisation working with the most ambitious organisations who want to be sustainability leaders in the sector. Our content is free for anyone to use and we also provide bespoke services, such as those below, free of charge.
Simple guidance for common scenarios and opportunities to use climate-aligned approaches in your work.
Clauses you can integrate into your due diligence questionnaires and standard templates to evaluate and mitigate climate-related risks.
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Updated:
Maintained
Clauses you can use to incentivise climate-aligned business goals in lending agreements and mobilise finance to support the transition to a decarbonised economy.
Clauses you can use to embed climate considerations into investment criteria to minimize environmental risks and achieve net-zero goals.
Clauses you can incorporate into board documents and investment agreements to enhance climate risk oversight and incentivize management teams to achieve ESG targets
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Updated:
Maintained
Jurisdiction: England & Wales
Updated:
Not maintained
Contracts are an often overlooked — but powerful tool — to both mitigate climate risks and reduce carbon emissions. And help is at hand for companies struggling to write climate-aligned contracts.
Tell us about your experience with this clause so we can improve it.