Sustainability advocacy
Advocacy is a key part of our sustainability approach. We advocate for the system-wide change that is needed and share concrete financing solutions. In our role as a global systemically important bank we bring our financing expertise and aim to act as a solutions broker and convenor of relevant stakeholders.
While we make efforts to leverage our role as a bank, 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, nature-positive and inclusive 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 sustainability approach, which is science-led, impact-led and engagement-led; and using our expertise, voice and influence to help make the transition bankable. 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 to support the transition
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:
- Electrification, renewable power and enabling infrastructure, including grid expansion and modernisation
- Energy efficiency, in particular the electrification and renovation of the built environment
- 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 and thematic workstreams; EBF Working Groups, which engage with the EU on sustainable and transition finance and clean industry policy; and the European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition, which engages with EU institutions and financial institutions on energy efficiency policy related to buildings and SMEs.
For more information, download the full white paper 'Making renovation feasible aligning solutions with home owner realities'.
Global engagement on making the transition bankable
When interacting with our many stakeholders, we have the ambition to contribute, 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 hosting and engaging in convenings with clients, industry, peers, policymakers, standards developers and other thought leaders spanning climate, nature, social and resilience.
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 UN-supported pledge by a group of five international banks regarding the Paris Agreement goals. At COP26, COP28 and COP30 we continued engaging on financing 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 contribute, connect, listen and learn on 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 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.