logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2023
16m 30s

Big bank Citi talks net-zero goals, Scop...

S&P GLOBAL
About this episode

This week on the ESG Insider podcast, we’re talking to one of the world’s largest banks about the landscape for climate disclosure rules and standards. 

We sit down with Citigroup Chief Sustainability Officer Val Smith. She talks about how Citi is approaching the energy transition with clients; how investor expectations around climate disclosure are changing; and the challenges of climate data.    

As a global bank with roughly $2.4 trillion in assets and operations on the ground in 95 countries, Citi works across many different sectors of the economy. The companies it lends to have different kinds of environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. For a bank, those financed emissions are Scope 3 emissions.    

In the episode, Val explains Citi’s net-zero goals and how the bank is approaching Scope 3 emissions in light of evolving climate disclosure regulations and standards. She says this changing landscape has made more collaboration necessary among different teams at the company — from sustainability to finance to legal.  

"In the mandatory disclosure space it's like exam week every week," Val says. “It's an incredibly active moving space with a lot of expectations, and it really does require that top-of-the-house, front-of-the-office collaboration between lots of different teams with different cultures to be able to execute and meet the expectations."    

Listen to last week’s episode, featuring all our interviews from the ESG Insider Live event: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/live-what-to-expect-from-the-evolving-climate-disclosure-landscape  

Hear more of our interviews about how financial institutions are approaching Scope 3 emissions: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/why-bank-of-america-says-scope-3-emissions-biggest-challenge-for-banks  

https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-financial-institutions-are-tackling-scope-3-financed-emissions  

Read research from S&P Global Sustainable1 on Scope 3 financed emissions here: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/financed-emissions-are-missing-from-many-firms-net-zero-plans     

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.    

Copyright ©2023 by S&P Global   

DISCLAIMER   

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk. This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.

Up next
Aug 22
CSO Insights: How a big Malaysian bank balances climate, nature, human rights and economic inclusion
How are corporate leaders navigating the changing sustainability landscape? To help answer that question, the All Things Sustainable podcast has launched CSO Insights, a new miniseries that brings listeners interviews with Chief Sustainability Officers across industries and aroun ... Show More
34m 38s
Aug 19
CSO Insights: How sustainability pullback is playing out in Southeast Asia
If you work in sustainability, you know that 2025 has been a time of upheaval in many parts of the world. At the All Things Sustainable podcast, we want to understand how sustainability leaders are handling the changing landscape. So this week, we’re launching a new miniseries wh ... Show More
39m 8s
Aug 15
Why one of Southeast Asia’s largest pension funds is ‘doubling down’ on sustainability
In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast we bring you the latest in our special series featuring major pension funds around the world. We sit down with Shahida Jaffar, Head of Corporate Sustainability at Malaysia’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF). EPF was established ... Show More
35 m
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2024
A primer on GHG emissions reporting
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.The GHG Protocol has been one of the most widely used sustainability reporting frameworks for companies reporting GHG emissions information. With the evolution of the sustainability reportin ... Show More
39m 35s
Jun 2024
Making crypto assets less cryptic – Recent accounting developments
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.This episode covers the latest developments in the world of crypto assets from the current landscape to the regulatory environment to the accounting. In this episode, we discuss: 4:13 – An o ... Show More
47m 14s
May 2024
How to understand the economy of nature
In 2020, the former BoE governor Mark Carney said the bank's objective was that "every professional financial decision will need to take climate change into account".  Since then we have seen regulatory action on removing greenwashing from the investment process, a consumer duty ... Show More
36m 40s
Apr 2024
846. Insights: The current state of ESG in financial services
Our expert hosts Rachel Pandyan is joined by some great guests to talk about how ESG is being championed by financial services to create meaningful change, not just for our industry, but for the whole world.ESG is a term most of us have heard, and it became a buzz word, a catch-a ... Show More
51m 27s
May 2024
Talking ESG: The challenge – and promise – of a circular economy
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.The concept of a circular economy emphasizes reducing, reusing, repairing, and recycling to minimize waste and maximize resource use in the context of a planet with finite resources. And as ... Show More
37m 47s
Mar 2024
Digging into the SEC climate disclosure rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules this month on what information companies must disclose about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, but notably dropped more stringent requirements that the commission initially proposed. Despite being halt ... Show More
32m 1s
Oct 2023
Talking ESG: TNFD launches a final nature reporting framework
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) released its final disclosure recommendations for nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities on September 18. ... Show More
42m 2s
Jun 2024
Talking ESG: Current state of reporting readiness
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.In this episode, Heather sits down with Marie Hache, PwC Sustainability partner, to discuss the practical challenges companies will face in implementing new mandatory sustainability reportin ... Show More
38m 9s
Mar 2024
SEC climate-related disclosure rules: what you need to know
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.In this episode, host Heather Horn sits down with Kyle Moffatt, PwC’s Professional Practice leader, and PwC National Office partners Kevin Vaughn and Valerie Wieman to break down the much-an ... Show More
52m 23s
Feb 2024
Presenting the income statement
Did you enjoy this episode? Text us your thoughts and be sure to include the episode name.We continue our month of podcasts focused on financial statement presentation hot topics.  In this episode, host Heather Horn sits down with Pat Durbin, a deputy chief accountant in PwC’s Na ... Show More
47m 8s