EQS-News: Tinkoff becomes Russia's first financial institution to join the Science Based Targets initiative 

Tinkoff becomes Russia's first financial institution to join the Science Based Targets initiative 

Earlier in November Tinkoff disclosed its full carbon footprint for the whole value chain

Moscow, Russia - 30 November 2021. 

Tinkoff has become the first Russian financial institution to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a global body enabling businesses to set ambitious science based emissions reduction targets in line with the latest climate science. It is focused on accelerating companies and financial institutions across the world to halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions before 2050.

The SBTi champions science-based target setting as a means of limiting companies' and financial institutions' environmental impact and boosting their competitive advantage in the transformation to the low-carbon economy. Science-based targets are greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets that are in line with the level of decarbonization required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement - to limit global warming to well-below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.  

By joining the SBTi, Tinkoff has committed to set science-based emissions reduction targets - across the entire value chain - that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Tinkoff has also committed to a long-term target to reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.

Setting a science-based target is a five-step process, that, alongside signing the initiative, also involves developing science-based emission reduction targets in line with the SBTi criteria, validating them with the SBTi, announcing them to the market, and disclosing their progress according to SBTi protocols. As a signatory, Tinkoff is committing to complete the first four steps by August 2024, and to achieve net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.

The initiative is a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. By joining SBTi, Tinkoff is joining Business Ambition for 1.5°C and Race to Zero, the UN-backed campaign. 

Oliver Hughes, co-CEO of Tinkoff Group, commented: "Tinkoff has always been a driver of change in the financial services sector, fueling innovation and implementing the latest technologies to build out its financial and lifestyle ecosystem. We are now applying the same drive and energy to help tackle the most pressing global challenge of our time: climate change. As a financial organization, we are uniquely positioned to influence other actors through our operations and we are committed to make sure we are making progress across all our business activities and the whole value chain.

Earlier in November we disclosed our full carbon footprint across the whole value chain for the three scopes, making us, to our knowledge, one of the first fintechs in the world to do so.

We are proud to become the first Russian financial institution to join the Science Based Targets initiative and look forward to doing more together with our partners, subcontractors and other stakeholders to develop our business sustainably and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."

Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Managing Director of the Science Based Targets initiative, said: "There is no time to lose. The transformation to a net-zero economy is unavoidable. Hundreds of businesses are leading the way by setting ambitious 1.5°C science-based targets. To stand a fighting chance of maintaining a habitable planet, we urgently need more companies to act on climate science and to decarbonize our economy."

Greenhouse gas inventory disclosure

Tinkoff analysed and recently published its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory for all three scopes for the entire value chain for 2019 and 2020. To access the data, the methodology and other related information please follow the link.

Total carbon footprint of the Group is significantly lower than traditional financial institutions and IT companies generally show.

Emissions of the seven GHGs listed in the Kyoto Protocol were assessed. The analysis of the Company's business processes shows that its operations result in CO₂, CH₄, N₂O (Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3), and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) (Scope 1) emissions. Direct and indirect energy-related emissions account for 0.7% in 2020 and 1.1% in 2019 of total emissions, while other indirect emissions account for about 99%.

To ensure that Tinkoff's results are comparable with those of other companies, the world's most widely-used standard, the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (GHG Protocol), was used. This methodology was used to determine the calculation boundaries, the main approach to the calculation, and the supporting methodological documents used for the calculation.

Tinkoff has also applied additional generally accepted calculation methodologies for certain emission categories such as 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, International Energy Agency (IEA); IPCC, IEA, UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, and Quantis Scope 3 Evaluator. 

About Tinkoff Group 

TCS Group Holding PLC is an innovative provider of online retail and SME financial services. It includes Tinkoff Bank, its mobile virtual network operator Tinkoff Mobile, Tinkoff Insurance, its asset management company Tinkoff Capital, Tinkoff Software DC, a network of development hubs in major Russian cities, and Tinkoff Education. The Group is currently developing Tinkoff ecosystem, which offers financial and lifestyle services. 

The Group was founded in 2006 by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov and has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since October 2013. 

The Group's key business is Tinkoff Bank, a fully online bank that serves over 18.5 mn customers and forms the core of the Tinkoff ecosystem. Tinkoff is the 3rd largest retail bank in Russia in terms of active customer base. 

Tinkoff Bank is the second largest player in the Russian credit card market, with a share of 14.5%. The 3Q'21 IFRS net profit of TCS Group Holding PLC amounted to RUB 16.5 bn. The ROE was 42.6%. 

With no branches, the Group serves all its customers remotely via online channels and a cloud-based call centre. The centre is staffed by over 10,000 employees, making it one of the largest in Europe. To ensure smooth delivery of the Group's products, the Group has a nationwide network of over 10,000 representatives. 

Global Finance named Tinkoff Bank the world's Best Consumer Digital Bank in 2020 and 2018, and the Best Consumer Digital Bank in Russia in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016 and 2015. Tinkoff was also named the Best European Retail Bank of the Year by Retail Banker International in 2020. In 2021, the Banker recognised Tinkoff Bank as Russia's Best-Performing Bank. The bank's mobile app has been consistently praised by local and global independent experts as the best of its kind (in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 by Deloitte and in 2018 by Global Finance). 

Forward-looking statements

Some of the information in this announcement may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the Group and Tinkoff Bank. You can identify forward looking statements by terms such as "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will", "could," "may" or "might", the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. The Group and Tinkoff Bank wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. The Group and Tinkoff Bank do not intend to update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in projections or forward-looking statements of the Group and Tinkoff Bank, including, among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment, risks associated with operating in Russia, rapid technological and market change in the industries the Group operates in, as well as many other risks specifically related to the Group, Tinkoff Bank and their respective operations.