Sept 19 - Citizens Financial Group on Tuesday set a sustainable finance target of $50 billion by 2030, through which the bank plans to facilitate affordable housing and support small businesses as well as community development projects.
Around $5 billion of the target would go toward green initiatives such as renewable energy and clean technologies, the lender said. Citizens Financial aims to be carbon neutral by 2035. Several companies across corporate America have made sustainability pledges in the past few years, as investors grow more focused on environmental, social and governance issues.
The banking industry has been targeted for its financing of oil and gas companies, with critics arguing the lenders have not responded to climate risks with urgency. Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Saeed Azhar in New York; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri