This Commitment Deepens Locus’ Focus on Climate Solutions and Aligns its Portfolio with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Richmond, VA – Today, Locus, a leading CDFI, announced its commitment to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), a measure that will deepen the organization’s focus on climate solutions. Joining PCAF makes official Locus’ commitment to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with its portfolio of loans, investments, and other financial products and services using jointly developed GHG accounting methodologies. These measures will ultimately enable the alignment of Locus’ portfolio with the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Investing in climate solutions remains a key pillar of our organization’s mission,” said Amir Kirkwood, President and CEO of Locus. “By partnering with PCAF, we will be accountable to measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions linked to our portfolio. We are thrilled to join our peers who have already signed and to fulfill our commitment to addressing the urgent challenges of climate change.”
PCAF is a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable harmonized assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas emissions financed by loans and investments. With more than 350 financial institutions from six continents, the group is rapidly expanding in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
“We are delighted to welcome Locus to our industry-led initiative. As financial institutions across the North American region continue to work together towards building a more sustainable financial system, the standardization of carbon accounting methodologies will prove invaluable,” said Chris Snyder, North America regional lead at PCAF.
“PCAF provides a much needed industry standard methodology to measure greenhouse gas emissions associated with our financial commitments,” said Peter Klemz, Vice President and Director of Impact at Locus. “As a carbon-conscious CFDI committed to climate mitigation strategies, our partnership with PCAF will allow us to join leading financial institutions and investors to improve our greenhouse gas accounting and further support the transition toward a net-zero emissions economy.”
More than 400 institutions have joined PCAF, with members including leading financial institutions such as Barclays, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, and M&T Bank Corp and peer Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) such as Coastal Enterprises, LISC, Enterprise Community Loan Fund, and Beneficial State Bank.
About Locus
Locus (formerly Virginia Community Capital) is a $335 million nonprofit and parent organization for a family of social enterprises, which includes Locus Bank, Locus Impact Fund, Locus Capital, and the Community Investment Guarantee Pool, or CIGP. The mission of Locus is to create equitable access to capital by developing community partnerships and innovative tools that tackle systemic challenges and advance opportunities. Locus employs solutions to address inequities, including lending, banking, impact-driven programs, place-based investments, and strategic consulting and work with each community to build investment strategies that lift their assets and meet their unique needs. To learn more, visit locusimpact.org.
About The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)
The Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) was launched globally in September 2019. Currently, more than 440 financial institutions have subscribed to the PCAF initiative. PCAF participants work together to jointly develop the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of their loans and investments. By doing so, PCAF participants take an important step to assess climate-related risks, set targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and develop effective strategies to decarbonize our society. For more information see https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/