Shaping the Future of Banking
Banking members can access multiple types of guidance, tools, support and services across UNEP FI, enabling you and your bank to manage impacts, address risks and seize business opportunities that contribute to building sustainable economies.
Get involved and help us build a positive future—achieving far more together than any single bank can.
- One-on-one bespoke expert support – We annually review each PRB signatory’s progress and hold a review and feedback meeting, offering strategic discussion, tailored guidance, targeted peer learning, and benchmarking.
- Communities of practice – Exchange best practices on innovative solutions, risk management, market opportunities, emerging sector developments, and learn from leading experts.
- Workstreams supporting the co-creation of new guidance – Work with experts and leading industry actors to advance global industry practice and norms
- Pilot groups – Be the first to apply and test methodologies, guidance and tools, refining existing guidance and approaches.
- Regional implementation support – Expand networks and build internal capabilities applied to your regional and national contexts. Share knowledge and experiences with regional peers.
- Peer exchange and case studies – Members share learnings and successes through facilitated peer discussions, and examples of good practice showcased in various formats.
- Learning and development – The PRB Academy offers professional development designed for colleagues within your bank to support culture change and implementation across functions.
- Leading resources – A repository of materials developed by, with, and for banks, including topic-specific and sectoral reports, research, case studies and blueprints.
Access the latest UNEP FI publications and tools
All banks are encouraged to use the guidance documents for best-practice on key topics. Working groups of signatory banks worldwide have contributed to – or are actively engaged in – creating this guidance, working with experts in the field. Discover what leadership looks like by using the easy-to use guides below.
PRB Implementation for Banks
Guidance for Banks on ESRS Implementation
The Guidance explains how ESRS requirements apply to banks and how UNEP FI resources can support implementation. Use the ESRS Guidance to: Understand key ESRS concepts and how they apply in the banking context, with clear references to the Draft ...
Principles for Responsible Banking Implementation Journey – Defining Responsible Banking
Since 2019 – when the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) framework was launched – there has been unprecedented change in the sustainable finance landscape. New international agreements have come to the fore, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, defining ...
Responsible Banking Blueprint
Navigating the dynamic intersection where science, regulation, standards and sustainable innovation meet, responsible banks play a critical role as both financial intermediaries and as agents of transformation. By aligning their core strategies, business processes, financial portfolios and client engagement practices ...
Principles for Responsible Banking Guidance
The Principles for Responsible Banking Guidance document is designed to support signatory banks' implementation of the Principles. It provides non-binding guidance to banks on measures they can take to implement each Principle. Each section of the Document begins with one ...
Impact Protocol 2025
Impact management explained, step by step! The Impact Protocol provides a step-by-step overview of how to analyse and manage bank portfolio impacts as per UNEP FI’s holistic impact approach and in conformity with the requirements of the Principles for Responsible ...
Principles for Responsible Banking Target Setting FAQ
Signatory banks of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) align their business strategy and practice with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement by following three key steps: impact analysis, target setting and reporting. Once they finish analysing ...
Guidance for Banks
A Guide to Transition Plans for Banks: The path from targets to implementation
To satisfy risk mitigation needs, meet ESG challenges and align with the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), investors, clients and society are increasingly pressing banks to demonstrate how they are aligning their financing activities with ...
Banking for Decent Work: A Pathway to Impact
Promoting decent work is not only an ethical and sustainability imperative, but also a smart business strategy. Increasingly, evidence shows that the performance of banks’ clients is closely linked to the quality and stability of the client’s workforce. Supporting decent ...
Guidance for Climate Target Setting for Banks – Version 4
The Guidance for Climate Target Setting for Banks outlines key principles to underpin the setting of credible, robust, impactful and ambitious targets for achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goals in alignment with the Paris Agreement. Banks are encouraged to use ...
Practical Guidance on Implementing Adaptation and Resilience for Banks
With the impacts of climate change intensifying, there is a growing demand for adaptation and resilience (A&R) solutions across the real economy. Banks are in a unique position to not only strengthen their own resilience, but also support their customers ...
Guidance on Responsible Policy Engagement
The Guidance on Responsible Policy Engagement, captures best practice and offers recommendations for developing and implementing effective policy engagement strategies, supporting banks in implementing Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) “Principle 4: Stakeholder Engagement.” The guidance covers practical steps including prioritizing engagement based ...
Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Target Setting Guidance for Banks
Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. Investing in women's empowerment provides the critical leverage required to advance gender equality, poverty eradication ...
Guidance on Client Engagement
Banks are vital economic intermediaries and as such can make their most significant contributions to society’s goals by creating synergies with clients, encouraging sustainable practices, and accompanying clients in their transition towards more sustainable business models and technologies. Simultaneously, banks ...
Guidance on Effective Governance
Research shows that strong performing governance frameworks have a bearing on risk management and business opportunity outcomes. We also know that good governance systems support more consistent delivery against organisational objectives and targets. Moreover, as financial intermediaries, banks have an ...
Driving Impact on Financial Health and Inclusion of Individuals and Businesses: From Setting Targets to Implementation
As economic, political, and environmental challenges strain families and businesses worldwide, the importance of financial health and inclusion has become increasingly evident for sustainable development. Financial institutions, as stewards of their customers' financial well-being, bear a crucial responsibility in promoting ...
Climate Adaptation Target Setting
The new Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) Climate Adaptation Target Setting guidance aims to help banks accelerate their efforts on managing climate-related impacts and financing climate adaptation, by setting adaptation targets using the PRB impact framework. Building on a framing ...
PRB Nature Target Setting Guidance
Authored by the UNEP FI with the support of Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) signatories, the new nature target-setting guidance aims to help the banking industry act on nature loss and set targets to align with the objectives of the ...
Guidance on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy Target Setting – Version 2
Our current linear economic system is based on a take-make-waste model which relies on resource extraction and depletes natural capital. Such practices severely worsen the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, and resource use is estimated to ...
Foundations of Climate Mitigation Target Setting
A getting-started guide on setting targets. Learn about the science, process, and context of target setting through this foundation guidance. As controllers and facilitators of capital, banks can be at the core of the systemic change needed to help decarbonise ...