Northern Europe-based financial services company Nordea announced the launch of a new Climate and Environment team, aimed at ensuring progress and group-wide alignment across its financing and investment activities towards its net zero goals.

The launch follows the announcement last year by Nordea of a commitment to become a net zero bank by 2050, along with a series of interim 2030 targets including reductions in carbon emissions from lending and investment portfolios by 40-50%, reductions internal carbon emissions by at least 50% and the achievement of net positive carbon contribution.

Nordea’s new Climate and Environment team will be led by Peter Sandahl, who has been serving as Head of Sustainability at Nordea Life & Pension. Sandahl has been appointed as Head of Climate and Environment and Deputy Head of Group Sustainability.

Sandahl joined Nordea in 2009, and has been leading the pension unit’s climate and sustainability strategy since 2019 and played an active role in shaping the global standards for carbon accounting, net-zero alignment and transition planning for financial institutions, with positions in initiatives including Partnership for Carbon Accounting for Financials (PCAF), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

Sandahl said:

“I’m very happy to have been given the trust to lead the work in this important area. I look forward to working with colleagues, customers and the broader community in further developing Nordea’s climate transition plan and executing on our goals and commitments.”