K&H Bank Achieves Carbon Neutrality

K&H Bank has achieved carbon neutrality by the end of the year, which means that it will fully offset the emissions resulting from its operations by supporting carbon neutrality projects, the financial institution told the state news agency MTI on Tuesday.

The statement highlighted that carbon emissions will be reduced to 80% by 2030 compared to 2015, which currently stands at 56%.

The bank is in the process of modernizing the energy efficiency of its branch network nationwide and switching to hybrid cars in its fleet, which already has more than 200 such cars, it said.

Levente Suba, head of the bank's sustainability program, said that in order to offset emissions, the bank's entire carbon footprint needs to be accurately understood, which is a very meticulous and labour-intensive task.

Internal measurement will only be credible if it is verified by an external company, he added.

The statement also pointed out that the bank is also aligning its financing activities with sustainability principles. This year, for example, it stopped financing projects that develop new oil and gas deposits and modernize existing ones, while increasing its role in supporting sustainable investments.

Around HUF 100 billion of financing has been provided this year for developments in the field of renewable energy production, K&H said in a statement.