HSBC has granted its first green loan to a climate-mitigation technology firm, fighting global warming by financing clients’ emissions reduction projects. Ampd Energy has received a USD 8 million two-year loan from the UK-based lender to fund its massive batteries placed on building sites.

By reducing the need for diesel generators, the batteries assist construction companies and property developers in lowering their carbon footprints. Even when the carbon emissions of energy generation are included, the total carbon footprint of battery systems is at least 85% less than that of diesel generators. This equates to a decrease of about 17,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

Ampd is one of hundreds of emerging Hong Kong enterprises taking use of commercial prospects presented by the corporate decarbonisation that must occur over the next several decades. Established in 2014 as a company funded by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park's incubation program, it has now expanded its operations to Singapore, Australia, and the UK. It is now focusing on the American market.

Hong Kong’s environmental initiatives The loan comes after the Hong Kong Financial Secretary unveiled five measures to stimulate innovation and enable funding for environmental projects, as the government seeks to convert Hong Kong into an international green technology and finance hub. These activities include financial innovations and the provision of green project certification to boost the legitimacy of carbon-reduction activity, which is crucial for bankers making financing choices. It will work to create a green tech 'environment' to attract the finest individuals and businesses, as well as to stimulate collaboration across industry, academia, and research groups to speed the commercialisation of creative technologies.

The government intends to assist green projects in obtaining funding 'more simply and flexibly' through financing arrangements in addition to established routes. Developing a green economy for sustainable development is a worldwide priority, and Hong Kong aspires to meet the '3060 Dual Carbon Goals', which allude to China's objective of attaining peak carbon by 2030 and being carbon-neutral by 2060. HSBC’s road to sustainability Traditionally, the banking industry has not been sustainable, socially responsible, or inclusive, but banks are becoming more aware of their role in effecting good change.

Banks' efforts are now growing beyond the initial scope of ESG practices, into the core of the bank's operations, such as producing a net-zero emissions balance sheet by offsetting the carbon footprint through the financing of green initiatives like renewable energy. Climate activists have accused HSBC, like its international counterparts, of not doing enough to reduce emissions from its lending portfolio. Such banks often engage their clients by encouraging them to examine their present carbon footprints and develop strategies to decrease them, including the finance required to carry out these plans.

To assist customers to accomplish this target, the bank, one of Hong Kong's three currency-issuing lenders, said in 2020 that it will offer between USD 750 million and USD 1 trillion in finance and investment by 2030. In 2017, it established a target of USD 100 billion for sustainable financing. HSBC planned to spend USD 100 million on clean-energy technology innovation enterprises as part of the endeavour.

By 2025, it promised to give the same amount to renewable energy and nature-based climate mitigation programs. .