HSBC UK: Committed to supporting transition – and agile on how to achieve it

The energy and climate transition is proving to be complex.

In some areas of the transition, progress is racing ahead of expectations. That’s especially true in the adoption of ever more affordable renewables, battery storage and EVs.

But other goals – decarbonisation of heavy-emitting industries, for example, and development of clean fuels – have been harder than anticipated to realise.

The global policy backdrop, too, is increasingly uncertain. A glance at the tone of media coverage on the topic underlines the complexity and diverging approaches since 2025’s Innovation Zero.

Yet our evidence shows that businesses’ commitment to the energy transition remains strong. 90% of UK corporate business leaders we surveyed in our Sustainability Pulse survey say they will accelerate their transition over the next three years, compared to 78% globally. The survey, which gathers insight from 1,600 business leaders and 500 institutional investors across 12 markets, suggests climate transition is a competitive edge for UK business.

When I talk to our clients, I find them as focused as ever on their sustainability efforts. They continue to see the energy transition as a key business opportunity, and they're eager to capitalise on it.
 

When targets meet real-life challenges

The firm resolution shown by clients makes sense to me. Turbulence is only to be expected. A transformation of the scale and complexity of net zero – spanning all sectors and societies – was never going to be straightforward.

In the past couple of years, we've reviewed around 4,000 corporate customers’ transition plans globally as part of our own ambitions to better support our clients and reduce Scope 3 financed emissions. Those engagements with customers have illuminated our understanding of their priorities, the barriers they face, and their capital requirements.

For some time, business attention was focussed on setting targets and developing transition plans. Many have now moved on to implementation – whether that means investing in the energy transition, moving to low-carbon business models, or strengthening climate resilience.

Inevitably, real-life challenges they’ve encountered in the translation from theory to practice have reshaped their visions of what form the transition will take.
 

Speeding up funding flows

At HSBC UK our approach mirrors that of the businesses we serve.

Like them, we’re firm in our support of the transition. And we’re constantly evolving the way we offer that support, so we can meet our clients where they are. We’ve spelled out how in our updated Net Zero Transition Plan.

We believe the transition to net zero will help make the global economy stronger and more resilient against mounting climate impacts. Today we finance a number of industries that significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. We have a strategy to help our customers to reduce their emissions and to reduce our own. Find out more about our climate strategy.

HSBC has huge strengths: global reach, a strong corporate and institutional customer base, and comprehensive transition solutions for corporates and investors. We’re harnessing each of these to accelerate the flow of capital for the transition – but all through the lens of our clients’ evolving needs.
 

Support for all sectors – and sizes

The energy transition affects every UK business. Large corporates naturally have a huge influence, in terms of potential to curb their emissions footprints and influence the sustainability of their supply chains.

But transition opportunities aren’t limited to large companies. At the other end of the scale, we provide small business clients with the tools they need to reduce emissions, cut costs and respond to sustainability demands from their customers.

In the mid-market, too, we have thought hard about the best ways to offer support. For example, we introduced our Sustainability Improvement Loan to help mid-sized companies invest in the transition, responding to a market need in this sector.

In fact, the volume of our sustainable finance and investment globally since 2020 has passed $495.6 billion – as we work towards our $750bn-$1tn target in the decade to 2030.
 

Connecting corporates with innovators

One of the exciting opportunities that comes from the breadth of the companies we work with is the ability to forge connections for clients.

For example, our customer base spans the entire value chain of energy system optimisation – from tech innovators and suppliers to project developers, grid operators, energy users, and those who invest in these projects. Our aim is to support these fast-growing ecosystems.

In the built environment sector, too, we serve a wealth of clients who are working to decarbonise construction and to enable commercial and residential retrofitting in a way which makes commercial sense, which is especially important for the UK’s transition to net zero.

Our network means we can link up major real estate clients, for example, with the innovators working on solutions that could help them cut costs and reduce their carbon footprints.

And our international capabilities – including strong roots in Asia, which brings a different perspective on emerging innovation – positions us to help transfer emerging knowledge between regions.
 

Collaboration is key to capital flow

It was innovation that unlocked success in the solar, battery and electric vehicle fields, ultimately creating scale and bringing affordable products to market. Now we need to replicate that success across the sectors that are proving harder to decarbonise.

That’s why Innovation Zero World Congress is such an inspiring event. It brings together so many entrepreneurs and innovators with transformational ideas and ambition to scale them. It’s energising to know that everyone in the room is working towards the same goals.

Rock Road, who will also be represented, provides a great example of how partnership works. They have been able to scale up their financing of zero-emission buses thanks to HSBC’s funding platform, with the goal of attracting institutional investors.

Close collaboration of that kind will be critical if we’re to crowd in private capital, de-risk novel transition technologies, and sustain the enabling environment we need to deliver net zero in the UK.
 

Tim Lord, Head of Climate and Energy, HSBC UK