HSBC UK has joined forces with LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) to launch an initiative to support farmers and help combat sustainability challenges in the sector.
The HSBC Sustainable Farming Pathway is a joint venture between the bank and the sustainable farming charity to encourage a smoother transition towards more sustainable farming practices, enabling eligible LEAF Marque certified farm businesses (or those in the process of applying for LEAF Marque certification) to access discounted loan arrangement fees when applying for applicable products.
The bank found that 70 per cent of UK farms are taking up DEFRA approved agri-environmental schemes, to support nature and biodiversity enhancements.
Approximately one third (38 per cent) of farmers are regularly testing the soil in their fields to inform NPK applications (the three major nutrients required by plants are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) while 28 per cent of dairy clients have undertaken a carbon audit.
Farmers have identified the areas of sustainability that they would like to invest in, such as renewables (54 per cent), slurry storage (22 per cent) and energy efficiency (20 per cent).
Grace O’Dwyer, Interim Head of Agricultural Banking at HSBC UK said: “We are delighted to launch the HSBC Sustainable Farming Pathway to help farming businesses transition to more sustainable techniques.
“HSBC UK is a significant lender to farms in the UK and our research shows around two-thirds (70 per cent) of farms are currently making commitments to transition to sustainable practices. By working with LEAF and future partners, we have the opportunity to directly support farmers who want to make sustainable choices.”
Canace Wong, Senior Recruitment Consultant (Professional Services) at Acre, said: “In the UK, many banks are seeing year-on-year growth on revenue in sustainable finance. The banking sector has a big part to play in unlocking sustainable practices, through providing capital to facilitate decarbonization, nature and biodiversity, and social sustainability goals.”
“At Acre, we noticed that there is an uptake of opportunities in nature and biodiversity within the banking sector in 2024, with several banks recently hiring senior nature and biodiversity specialists, as well as amping up their nature and biodiversity teams.
“HSBC’s new partnership with LEAF is another example of latest financial schemes to support enhanced nature and biodiversity outcomes from the agricultural sector. We look forward to seeing more similar initiatives in the sector.”
If you are a financial institution and currently reviewing your talent needs for sustainable finance professionals, please get in touch with Acre.
