Dive Brief:
- Citi has committed $647.2 billion to sustainable finance since 2020, including $91.3 billion in commitments in 2025, the bank reported in its latest sustainability report.
- The bank reached 75% of the operational sustainability goals it had set for 2025, according to the July report. Additionally, the bank set a pair of new 2030 goals to reduce its energy consumption and operational emissions, based on a 2025 baseline.
- “Clients tell us that amidst the new global dynamics, building resilience into their business models is no longer a defensive tactic; it is a competitive necessity,” Citi CEO Jane Fraser said in the report’s foreword.
Dive Insight:
Citi has end-of-decade goals to reach net-zero emissions across its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions portfolio, in addition to a $1 trillion sustainable finance goal. The sustainable finance goal is designed “to support the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy that takes into consideration society’s environmental, social and economic needs,” and the bank is meeting it through a combination of environmental- and social-focused financing. The bank also has a 2050 goal to reach net-zero financed emissions.
Citi estimated in the report, released July 21, that its sustainable financing commitments have led to 8.8 million metric tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions through investments in renewable energy, green affordable housing and energy efficiency and have supported more than 4.4 million jobs.
Citi said its 2025 sustainable financing results “reflect a challenging market.” Of the $91.3 billion committed in 2025, Citi said 62% of the funds ($56.6 billion) were invested internationally, with the remaining 38% committed to North American projects ($34.7 billion).
Of the financing committed to Citi’s $1 trillion goal specifically, 56% — or $363.8 billion — has gone to international projects, and 44% — or $283.3 billion — has been invested in North American projects over the past six years.
With regards to its 2025 sustainability goals, Citi reported hitting six of eight targets related to its operational emissions, energy, water, waste and building footprints, measured against 2010 baselines.
The bank reported reducing its location-based scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 58%, compared to the baseline, surpassing a 45% reduction goal. Citi said it will now target a 15% reduction in its location-based emissions, measured against a 2025 baseline, according to the report.
Citi reported it generated a total of 370,030 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of location-based scope 1 and scope 2 emissions last year, around 3.8% less than in 2024. The bank’s scope 1 emissions totaled 50,790 metric tons of CO2e and scope 2 emissions totaled 319,240 metric tons of CO2e.
Citi also said it had surpassed a 2025 goal to reduce its energy consumption by 40% and achieved a 43% reduction in energy consumption, compared to a 2010 baseline. The bank said it will target reducing its energy consumption an additional 10% by 2030, compared to a 2025 baseline.
“As technology, energy systems and market conditions continue to evolve rapidly, we are evaluating pathways to achieve our new goals,” the bank noted in the report.
The bank also reported achieving or surpassing 2025 targets of maintaining 100% renewable energy sourcing; reducing its total water consumption by 30%, reporting a 43% reduction compared to a 2010 baseline; halving its total waste, with a reported 68% reduction; and having 40% of its floor area have sustainable building certifications. On the latter goal, Citi reported that 64% of its floor area was LEED certified from the U.S. Green Building Council or WELL certified by the International Well Building Institute.
The bank fell just short of a goal of diverting half of its waste from landfills, reaching 49%, according to the report. However, Citi reported being well behind a target of having 25% of its water consumption come from reclaimed or reused water sources, reporting that 11% of its water came from such sources. The bank said both areas “remain a priority.”
“We were unable to achieve our 2025 water reclamation goal due primarily to limited on-site infrastructure, the complexity of retrofitting systems and the lack of reclaimed water sourced through local utilities,” the report said. “For our waste diversion goal, challenges included limited availability of data and lack of recycling infrastructure in many of the countries where we operate.”
Citi said in the report that it is also considering additional sustainability goals that it expects to “announce separately in future reporting.”
Citi also reported 50,790 metric tons CO2e in carbon credits for 2025, which did not count toward its operational emissions goals. The bank began purchasing such credits in 2022 and has a portfolio “of nature-based, energy efficiency and methane destruction credits in an amount equivalent to [Citi’s] scope 1 emissions,” according to the report.
