MuniFin joins Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

At the end of November, MuniFin joined Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF). This industry led initiative aims to develop and implement a standardised method for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) accounting for the financial industry to align financial portfolios with the Paris Agreement.

PCAF is a partnership of financial institutions with 346 members worldwide that work together to implement a harmonised and transparent method for GHG accounting. By joining, MuniFin commits to measure and disclose GHG associated with its lending and liquidity portfolios.

As a financial institution, MuniFin makes its greatest positive impact through its customers and financing the green transition.

“As the only financial institution in Finland specialised in financing municipalities and the affordable social housing sector, our mission is to build a more sustainable future together with our customers. To better succeed in this, it is imperative to understand the climate impact of our lending portfolio”, says Sustainability Manager Kalle Kinnunen.

The regulatory requirements for disclosing financed emissions are catching up, but it is the voluntary efforts that generate the greatest results.

“PCAF and the global GHG accounting and reporting standard have become the gold standard and we are happy to join this development and remain in the ranks of forerunners in sustainability. We had already applied PCAF’s guidance to our GHG accounting before joining. Still, methodologies for many sectors are continuously developing rather than established. We hope to benefit the network with our expertise on the municipal sector”, Kinnunen continues.

Reducing emissions is vital across the economy. According to Kinnunen, collaboration is key when it comes to sustainability and Finnish municipalities are a great example.

“The Finnish HINKU network is a great demonstration. Already 92 Finnish municipalities are members and they are committed to reducing their emissions by 80% from their 2007 levels by 2030. The network is coordinated by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE that is the forerunner in municipal emission calculation, not only in Finland, but globally”, says Kinnunen.

In 2016, MuniFin was the first financial institution in Finland to offer green finance for climate and environmentally friendly investments, such as public transportation, renewable energy and sustainable buildings.

“Buildings are a significant source of emissions and to reduce them, energy efficiency is an important aspect to focus on. We want to continue to encourage and support our customers to make investments that reduce their emissions while meeting the needs of the people”, Kinnunen explains.

Kinnunen is eager to start the collaboration.

“We joined PCAF to better understand our impact. We need actual numbers, measurable goals and transparency followed by actions to push the whole industry towards more sustainable choices”, he says.

Further information

Kalle Kinnunen

Sustainability Manager, Funding and Sustainability

+358 400 489 425

Antti Kontio

Head of Funding and Sustainability, MuniFin

Tel. +358 500 3700285

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PCAF: Financial institutions taking action