Ambiental helps financial institutions mitigate the effects of climate change

The recent COP26 summit in Scotland highlighted some stark conclusions about our battle against climate change. It showed that the effects of human-caused global warming have increased steadily since the industrial era, that they will worsen in decades to come, and that they will not be reversed within the lifetimes of those alive today.

The impacts of these changes are numerous and severe. The vast majority of natural disasters are caused by climate change – including forest fires, hurricanes, heatwaves, droughts, and storms.

In particular, floods are an increasing cause for concern. Ambiental’s climate change data estimates that an additional 1.2 million properties – and £60 billion in mortgage debt – could be at risk of flooding by 2050.

This means that it’s more important than ever for businesses, investors, and especially mortgage lenders to know the risks their assets face in different locations across the world.

But it’s not just about avoiding risk, there’s a compliance element in play here, too. For financial institutions, it will soon to be a legal requirement to show what measures are taken to ensure sustainable lending in the face of our changing climate.

New regulations mean new challenges

As of April 2022, financial reporting on these issues will become mandatory in the UK, and European regulations are expected to come into play later in the year. The upshot of this is that lenders are running out of time to gain concrete and demonstrable insight into the risks they currently face – and those they’re likely to face in the future, too.

Our whitepaper, Climate Stress Testing - Regulations and Opportunities Facing European Banks and Insurers, talks through these changes in more detail.
When faced with the urgent need to change, we often see financial institutions follow the lead of the major industry players. Increasingly, both industry leaders and fast followers in finance have been using our Ambiental climate risk analytics solution to gain vital insights into risk exposure.

What is Ambiental’s data solution for the financial services sector?

Ambiental’s Climate Suite offers banks, lenders, building societies and insurers the tools required to meet the latest regulatory requirements, identify risk, and futureproof the business for tomorrow.

Based on technology our experts in environmental analytics have been building since 2015, Climate Suite contains data on all kinds of climate-related risk, in all locations. Which means you can assess which assets are at risk from extreme weather events and make investments accordingly.

Our data, provided by our market-leading partners, feeds into a variety of banks’ processes, including back book analysis, mortgage originations, and wider risk assessment functions – allowing lenders to measure and predict:

• Present and future flood risks
• Present and future subsidence risk
• Coastal erosion risk
• EPC data

This data consistently equals or outperforms the competition in post-flood event datasets. But it’s not just data and technology we provide.

Even the best data can be used in the wrong way. So, we train our customers to use that data with complete confidence, help them to develop strategies, support them in whatever use cases they want to pursue, and ensure the meaning behind that data is clear.

The result is a transparent, data-driven view of which properties and assets are at risk from climate-related weather events, both now and in the future. Our unique approach means that future risks can be quantified for any given year or across any required timeframe, so you can base your assessments on the exact duration of an investment, mortgage, or insurance policy.

The end result is safer, more sustainable investments and simplified compliance.

Our customers

Our products support the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, and are currently in used by some of the UK and Europe’s biggest financial institutions, including Virgin Money, Yorkshire Building Society, Scottish Building Society, and Leeds Building Society.

Virgin money signs climate change contract with hometrack

Lenders, many of whom are TCFD supporters, gain insights through our partnership with Hometrack – the leading insight and intelligence provider to the UK mortgage market.
 
Virgin Money recently signed a contract with our partner, Hometrack, whose mortgage intelligence platform is powered by Ambiental data.

Our flood data will assist the bank as it works to meet ongoing regulations from the Bank of England. It will also help Virgin to identify near-term risks and assess how those risks are likely to develop over time – providing the best possible foresight for navigating the impacts of climate change.

Scottish building society maps climate change impact on £400m of mortgages

Established in 1848, the Scottish Building Society is Scotland’s only independent building society – and the oldest one in the world.

Using Ambiental’s flood risk insights, it has been able to assess the current level of risk to more than £400 million in mortgage investments.

Yorkshire building society identifies risk across its portfolio

Likewise, Yorkshire Building Society, the UK’s third-largest building society, is using Hometrack to assess the current and future risk climate-related events pose to its mortgage portfolio.

Want to know more?

If you want help assessing the risk climate change poses to your business, assets, and investments, get in touch for a free exploratory call.