Sustainability advocacy

At ING, advocacy is therefore a key enabler of our sustainability approach. We advocate for the system-wide change that is needed. In our role as a global systemically important bank we aim to act as a solutions broker and convenor of diverse stakeholders, in addition to our role as an expert contributor.

While we make efforts to leverage our role as a bank, helping customers to drive down their emissions and financing the build-up of the solutions needed for a low-carbon economy, there are additional dependencies and variables outside of our control that affect the pace of the transition. Gaps in policy, technology and viable business cases are barriers to the low-carbon transition. ING therefore engages in policy and market advocacy to help unlock these barriers and support clients and their industries to transition successfully.

For ING, sustainability advocacy means aligning with our existing sustainability approach which is science-led, impact-led and engagement-led, and using our expertise, voice and influence to drive systemic change. Our advocacy actions include:

  • Shaping the public debate through research, thought leadership and clear positioning
  • Creating consensus on priority issues among stakeholders and joining with others in coalitions
  • Contributing to voluntary standards, and demonstrating (bankable) solutions and effective actions
  • Informing and influencing policy frameworks and regulation

The energy transition is the focal point of our sustainability advocacy. Within that, we have identified priority areas where we can have the most impact in supporting our clients and customers. These are:

  • Renewable power and enabling infrastructure, including grid expansion and modernisation
  • Electrification and energy efficiency, in particular the electrification and renovation of the built environment (Commercial and Residential Real Estate)
  • Alternative low-carbon fuels for use in hard-to-abate industrial sectors and transport, in particular shipping and aviation
  • Financing the transition, and improving the bankability and scale-up of transition projects

We act on these priority areas through our participation in, for example, the UNEP FI Banking Board, the EBF Sustainable Finance Working Group, which engages with the EU on the development of the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank, and the European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition which engages with EU institutions on the direction of energy performance for buildings policy.

For more information, see ING’s position paper on the energy transition.
 

Global engagement on making the transition bankable

When interacting with our many stakeholders, we have the ambition to lead, to connect, and to listen and learn. We seek to amplify our impact by sharing our expertise, helping to shape standards, and contributing to multi-stakeholder discussions on financing the energy transition and making the transition bankable. It’s with these objectives in mind that ING actively participates in convenings and dialogues across global platforms:

At Climate Action Weeks

ING is active on the ground at key climate week convenings including Ecosperity, London Climate Action Week and New York Climate Week. Our 2026 activities in London included:

  • Stakeholder engagement with policymakers, clients, industry peers, central banks, insurers and research institutions
  • Co-hosting and participating in convenings on sustainable finance, climate, and nature transition topics (UNEP FI, WEF, IIF, GEFI, WBCSD)
  • Working groups and other standards-setting engagement across climate, nature, social issues, and resilience
  • Leading and contributing to research and publications with leading sustainability and finance organisations

At the UN COPs

At the Conferences of the Parties or ‘COPs’, world leaders, scientists, NGOs and civil society leaders come together to discuss and agree how to address global challenges. At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COPs, climate change is the focal topic. The private sector is increasingly pivotal in these discussions.

ING has been on the ground at key Climate COPs over the last decade to contribute our experience as a commercial bank and a solutions broker; offer concrete proof points of our leadership actions and transactions; connect with world leaders, clients and expert stakeholders; and to listen and learn.

We were at COP24 in 2018 to announce the Katowice Commitment, the first pledge by a group of five international banks to align their portfolios with the Paris Agreement goals. At COP26, COP28 and COP30 we continued engaging on leading actions and solutions, as well as the challenges, to achieve the global goals.

Road to COP31

Looking ahead to COP31 in November 2026, ING will be present to engage with our clients, governments and other stakeholders to lead, connect, listen and share how:

  • We are financing the energy transition and advocating for the change needed to accelerate, through financing of renewables, electrification and alternative fuels and transition solutions in hard to abate sectors, including steel and shipping.
  • We are scaling finance for SMEs’ transitions and finance for home renovations, and unlocking barriers.
  • We continue to help our clients in their transitions to drive down emissions, and work on finding solutions for nature (including food).

We will continue to work with key partners including the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (GEFI), who collaborate closely with the UN Climate High-Level Champions. ING has also joined the process led by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB) as the appointed COP31 Private Sector Envoy, to advance the agenda for the COP31 Business Forum.

We also contribute to ongoing global climate negotiations, including the First Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels Conference in April 2026. We were invited as a global leading bank to contribute the private sector inputs to this first conference, hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands with 60 governments and multiple stakeholder groups to advance the transition away from fossil fuels. View our full submission.

We have also shared relevant insights from this submission in the Veredas Dialogue during the UNFCCC Bonn intersessional in June 2026 and to the Belém Mission to 1.5 in July 2026.

This website discusses one or more specific transactions and/or contains general statements about ING’s climate approach. The approach and criteria referred to on this website are intended to be applied in accordance with applicable law. Due to the fact that there may be different or even conflicting laws, the approach, criteria or the application thereof, could be different.