Queen’s private banker Coutts aims for a greener portfolio

LONDON (Reuters) – Coutts, British wealth manager and private banker to the Queen, plans to cut carbon emissions in its funds and portfolios by 25% before the end of 2021 and has introduced climate-linked exclusions for the first time.

The bank, part of RBS Group , said it would exclude all companies that get more than 5% of their revenues from thermal coal extraction, tar sands, or Arctic oil and gas exploration.

It will also exclude any company that gets more than 25% of its revenue from thermal coal energy generation, it said in a statement, as part of a broader drive to reach a 50% reduction in its carbon emissions across all its holdings by 2030.

Leslie Gent, Coutts’ Head of Responsible Investing, said it was vital the bank held itself accountable and called on regulators to ensure reform.

“To date, there has been a lot of carrot and not much stick and we believe that regulators should harden their stance to help drive real change,” he said.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Barbara Lewis)