On 11 April 2022 the Group announced a three-year partnership that will support the delivery of a training programme for all the employees, including managers and customer advisors, and an in-depth Climate Change Transformation training programme for those in priority roles who require a broader level of knowledge.

The programme seeks to train employees to reduce the environmental impact of their own processes as well as to guide customers towards greener approaches.

James Close, Head of Climate Change, NatWest Group, said: “Climate education across the bank is central to us reaching our climate ambitions and the UK’s move to a net zero economy. This specialist training will provide the confidence for colleagues to step into climate conversations both within the bank and with customers”.

Wendy Loretto, Dean of The University of Edinburgh Business School: “ COP26 highlighted just how integral businesses are in this climate crisis, and collaborations such as this mark the great responsibility business schools have in ensuring their research translates to effective change. This partnership gives us the opportunity to ensure we are at the forefront of such change.”

This new deal follows a previous successful collaboration with The University of Edinburgh Centre for Business, Climate Change and Sustainability, aiming to support the evolution and growth of existing programmes, developing new learning to support key sectors across the bank.

On 2021, NatWest had already trained more than 13,000 people on green topics that focused on climate awareness, climate change and agriculture.

The new training programme, that is developed on 12-week e-learning course with input also from specialist companies, will focus on corporate property, retail, industry, and leisure.

The Group’s commitment on environmental is amply confirmed by numerous initiatives.

In 2021, it published A Springboard to Sustainability report, that shows the potential opportunity for the UK economy from the transition to net-zero: Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) could create up to 130,000 new jobs, producing around 30,000 new businesses and resulting in an estimated £160 billion opportunity for the UK economy.

The Company is a founding member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance and is in the coalition of the new Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), comprising over 160 financial services companies that are part of the UN Race to Zero campaign.