Sumitomo Mitsui Financial : Enhancement of Initiatives for Sustainability

【NEWS RELEASE】

March 29, 2024

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

Enhancement of Initiatives for Sustainability

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (President and Group CEO: Toru Nakashima, hereinafter, the group is collectively referred to as "SMBC Group") hereby announces the enhancement of its initiatives for sustainability as described below.

(1) Medium-term portfolio GHG emissions reduction targets (automobile and steel sectors)

SMBC Group joined the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) in October 2021 and is committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across our investment and loan portfolios by 2050. We hereby announce that we have set medium-term GHG reduction targets for automobile and steel sectors. For details on emissions calculations, please refer to the SMBC Group TCFD Report 2023 (*1).

In order to contribute to the decarbonization of the real economy through transition finance, SMBC Group has published the "Transition Finance Playbook" (hereinafter referred to as "the Playbook" (*5)), which sets out our definitions and criteria for transition finance.

Currently, the Playbook covers power and oil and gas sectors. Based on the above medium-term GHG reduction targets, we plan to expand its scope to the automobile and steel sectors in fiscal year 2024. SMBC Group will continue to be engaged in dialogue with customers in utilizing the Playbook, aiming to achieve the medium-term GHG reduction targets and realize a decarbonized society.

Reference: Status of medium-term portfolio GHG reduction targets (NZBA's nine sectors)

*1 SMBC Group TCFD Report 2023https://www.smfg.co.jp/english/sustainability/materiality/environment/climate/pdf/tcfd_report_e_2023.pdf

*5 Transition Finance Playbookhttps://www.smfg.co.jp/english/sustainability/materiality/environment/business/pdf/tfp_en.pdf

(2) Revision of Policies for Specific Businesses and Sectors (coal-fired power generation, thermal coal, biomass, and human rights)

SMBC Group has established Policies for Specific Businesses and Sectors which are likely to have significant impacts on the environment and society.

With the aim of respecting human rights and enhancing responses to climate change and efforts to conserve and restore natural capital, we have newly established and revised the following policies. For more information on the revised sector and business policies, please refer to our Sustainability Policy.https://www.smfg.co.jp/english/sustainability/group_sustainability/

(3) Introduction of environmental and social due diligence

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) will introduce environmental and social due diligence in fiscal year 2024. SMBC has already been working to understand the status of customers' responses to environmental and social risks, and it will develop an advanced due diligence framework as "environmental and social due diligence."

From a globally unified perspective, we will understand and evaluate our customers' environmental and social initiatives (including climate change, biodiversity, and human rights violations) and their risk mitigation measures, and use them to improve risk management through the enhancement of conventional credit decisions and to engage with customers to solve social issues.

Outline of environmental and social due diligence

*6 Introduced in July 2020 for the purpose of understanding customers' non-financial information on the environment and society and is also used for human rights due diligence.

*7 In FY2023, we conducted a trial evaluation of individual companies' transition plans in sectors with high transition risk, such as electric power and oil and gas.

Schedule of upcoming major sustainability-related disclosures and events (until the end of May 2024)

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. published this content on 29 March 2024 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 29 March 2024 05:07:05 UTC.