HSBC Asset Management’s sustainability boss to depart as sector pivots on ESG
The top sustainability boss at HSBC Asset Management is set to leave the firm amid chief executive Georges Elhedery’s review of the lender’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.
Erin Leonard’s exit, as first reported by Reuters, follows Celine Herweijer, the bank’s former chief sustainability officer, leaving the firm at the end of last year.
Leonard had oversight on the Asset Management arm’s diversity, equity and inclusion-focused initiatives and managed sustainable investing efforts.
Elhedery, who replaced Noel Quinn at the bank in September 2024, unveiled sweeping plans to reduce costs at the lender in October.
This included splitting the firm’s geographical setup into “Eastern markets,” including Asia and the Middle East, and “Western markets,” with the UK, Europe and Americas.
It was also reported Elhedery was drawing up plans to shave $300m (£229m) off top management layers.
Lenders ditching ESG framework
The sustainability chief’s departure follows an industry-wide step back from ESG policies after years of prominence for the agenda.
HSBC slapped a 20-year delay on its climate target, which aims to reduce emissions across the bank’s operations.
The FTSE 100 lender had announced plans in 2020 to achieve net zero across its operations and supply chains by 2030, but now aims to meet the goal by 2050.
The firm added that it would also be reviewing its 2030 targets to reduce emissions relating to its financing of polluting firms, with the findings to be published later this year.
This followed Barclays and Natwest dropping their climate goals from bonus schemes for senior executives, arguing it would better reflect the lender’s long-term climate goals.
Retreats on climate goals have been seen on Wall Street, too, with six of the biggest banks in the US altering their commitments after departing the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), which was convened in 2021 by the UN Environment Programme finance initiative.
The firms who excited NZBA included JP Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America.
The shift comes amid a dramatic change in rhetoric and policy on ESG issues from the White House since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
One of the President’s first executive orders saw the US removed from the Paris climate agreement and Trump has pledged to crack down on DEI initiatives across government departments.