Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), one of Japan’s largest banks, has developed a comprehensive transition finance framework to support customers in achieving net zero while managing real-economy constraints. With targets to achieve net zero by 2050 and provide JPY 50 trillion in cumulative sustainable finance by 2030, the bank has published a Transition Plan aligned with GFANZ voluntary guidance.
Specific tools such as the Transition Finance Playbook Scorebook, were subsequently developed to strengthen accountability towards stakeholders and productively engage with customers. While the Playbook details the bank’s approach to key sectors of focus (Power, Oil and Gas, Automobile, Steel), the Scorebook is used as a tool for ecosystem engagement - delivering specific messages and “calls for action”.
The bank also utilizes the Scorebook to address practical challenges and barriers, including sector specific considerations (eg. carbon lock in). It is used to engage widely with the bank’s key stakeholders - including customers, regulators, and peer financial institutions, to forge a common understanding and articulate SMBC’s definitions, stance and approach to Transition Finance.
