@mastersthesis{Kischenko2024,
  type      = {Bachelor Thesis},
  author    = {Kischenko, Celine},
  title     = {Measuring the Carbon Footprint in the Financial Sector: Standardization and Risk Assessment Analysis},
  institution = {IBM - International Business Management},
  year      = {2024},
  abstract  = {This bachelor thesis examines the role of the PCAF Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard in the financial sector and highlights its granularity in measuring the carbon footprint for different financial activities. Despite its adaptability, the credibility of the standard is impaired by the minimal involvement of regulators and low compliance by signatories, leading to transparency and data quality concerns. The results underline the need for standardized carbon footprint measurement to improve transparency, comparability, and accountability in the financial sector. Further research within this thesis investigates how banks incorporate carbon footprint data into their risk assessment models for lending and investment decisions. Banks are increasingly using ESG ratings derived from detailed questionnaires, emphasizing environmental factors such as carbon emissions, while encouraging a shift towards more sustainable business practices without sanctioning existing shortcomings. Sustainability criteria do not have an impact on lending conditions so far. Some banks apply exclusion criteria to prevent the financing of certain harmful business areas. At the same time, awareness of climate-related risks, including physical and transition risks, is growing, requiring banks to improve their risk assessment models to effectively integrate these considerations and strengthen the resilience of their portfolios to climate-related risks. The thesis ultimately concludes that despite significant progress within the financial sector, further sophistication of reporting standards and risk assessment models is essential to support the transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy.},
  language  = {en}
}