Sustainability and ESG Financing
Sustainability and ESG Financing
The Sustainability and ESG Financing team specialises in structuring environmental, social and governance (ESG) products and services, helping corporates become more sustainable and supporting the UK’s road to net-zero.
The Sustainability team supports businesses across the UK, providing insights and learnings to clients to inform their green strategies. The team combines deep experience in structuring sustainable finance products across many sectors with expertise and insights to help clients make the right decisions for their firms and the environment.
Jonas Persson, Managing Director and Head of Sustainability and ESG Financing says:
“Sustainability has rightly been on the corporate agenda for a number of years, with the Paris Agreement and the UK’s net-zero legislation in 2019 focusing minds on the measures needed to tackle climate change. Finance has a key role to play in that, both in funding new, greener projects and incentivising corporates to continue making sustainable changes to their businesses”.
Last year Lloyds Banking Group provided £2.3 billion of green funding to businesses and in 2021 it is expanding the funding available under green finance initiatives from £3bn to £5bn to support green transition. The Group has also trained over 800 colleagues in climate change and sustainability-related risks and opportunities in collaboration with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
The sustainability pivot: energy turns to the future
Decommissioning in the North Sea – Fundamentals & Financing
The North Sea is in a period of transition, and decommissioning is in full swing. Financing such projects may seem arduous, but solutions are out there. Read our report, produced in partnership with Petroleum Economist, to find out more about what’s shaping decommissioning in the North Sea – now and in the Future.
Our people
Jonas Persson is Head of Sustainability and ESG Finance at Bank of Scotland, having lead Energy & Utilities businesses for the best part of 2 decades. He joined in 2008 and has been driving the Renewables and the ESG agenda both internally and externally, and proud to have supported the first baseline commitment by any Bank as the Group is committing to a 50% carbon reduction by 2030.
Jonas has a strong track record of steering the business in a commercial and prudent way, taking into account major challenges such as political, regulatory and technological risk. He has got a reputation of successfully building strong teams and developing talent.
Jonas was educated at University of Lund, Sweden and Universidad de Cantabria, Spain. He’s a qualified member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers and SMCR certified.