How to Get Green Financing for Your Company

Welcome to the world where sustainability meets strategy- and more importantly, where your environmental reporting can actually unlock financial benefits for your business.

Let’s break down how climate risk assessments and ESG incentives can open the door to better financing options- like green loans and bonds- and why banks are paying closer attention than ever.

Why Climate Risk Matters to Banks

At the core of any financial relationship lies one word: risk. Banks don’t love risk- they love managing it. So, when they consider lending money to your company, their first question is: How likely are we to get it back?

This is where climate risk assessments come in.

If you can demonstrate that you’ve assessed and understood the climate-related risks facing your company and its value chain — and that you’ve put strategies in place to mitigate them — that’s a strong signal to the bank. It shows you're in control, aware of the challenges ahead, and actively managing them.

And here’s the thing: the bank also needs to report its own risks — to institutions like the European Central Bank. So there's a chain of accountability:

You report to the bank, the bank reports to regulators.

When you provide clear, structured risk information — for example, using the TCFD framework (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) — you help the bank assess you as a low-risk borrower. That makes it more likely you’ll receive funding — and often, at better terms.

Two Main Pathways to Green Financing

1. Climate Risk-Based Financing

When you assess your climate risks and present that data to a bank, you're doing more than checking a compliance box — you're opening a door.

By showing the potential financial impact of climate risks, and how your company plans to mitigate them, you’re helping the bank make a confident lending decision. You might not eliminate risk entirely, but you demonstrate control and strategic planning. This can significantly improve your chances of securing funding- especially for climate-aligned or long-term investments.

2. Green Loans and Bonds

This is where it gets even more exciting. Banks offer green financial products like green loans or bonds- often with lower interest rates or higher loan ceilings- to companies that can prove their projects are environmentally aligned.

To qualify, you typically need to align with a set of Green Loan Principles, including:

• Clear use of proceeds for green projects
• Transparent project evaluation and selection process
• Robust management of proceeds
• Ongoing impact reporting

This starts with greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting - quantifying your emissions, setting reduction targets (internally or third-party validated, e.g., Science-Based Targets), and tracking progress. When you can present all of this to a bank, you’re essentially saying: We’re part of the solution.

What’s in It for the Bank?

Why are banks offering these incentives in the first place?

Because they’re under pressure too. Banks must align their portfolios with sustainability frameworks, such as the Taxonomy, and reduce their own emissions. That means collecting emissions data from all the companies they finance.

So, when you report your emissions, set reduction targets, and follow through, the bank can use that data to reduce the carbon footprint of its own investment portfolio.

This is a win-win:

• You get better financing options.
• The bank improves its sustainability profile.

So, What Should Your Company Do?

Start by:

• Measuring your GHG emissions
• Conducting a climate risk assessment (e.g., using TCFD)
• Identifying risks in your value chain and estimating potential financial impacts
• Defining mitigation strategies and emissions reduction targets
• Tracking progress and reporting results transparently

Whether you're seeking a traditional loan or a green financial product, this kind of reporting puts you ahead.

Want to Learn More?

If this sounds like something your business could benefit from, check out our online course platform. We offer practical training on carbon accounting, climate risk assessments, and how to use these tools to unlock green financing.

Have more questions? Book a 30-minute chat with one of our experts!