About
The Principles are unique in form of providing guidelines that applies to the whole financial institution, including the strategic, portfolio and transactional levels. The signatory banks are provided with a framework for application to effectively implement a sustainable banking system, as well as identify potential risks to a sustainable economy.
By signing the Principles, banks are required to take three key steps, including:
- an analysis of the bank's positive or negative impacts on society, the environment and the economy;
- target setting and implementation; and
- reporting on the progress on implementing the Principles and be transparent about the bank's impacts and contributions.
Who does it impact?
All signatory banks and their customers and counterparties in the financing market.
Status: Launched
Launched in New York on 22 and 23 September 2019 during the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Relation to other initiatives and regulations
- The UN Principles for Responsible Banking are developed by the United Nations Environment Programme's Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI) in partnership with 130 founding banks.
- By committing to the UN Principles for Responsible Banking, the banking industry contributes to achieving the goals expressed in the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- In April of 2024, the UN Environment Programme finance initiative launched a resource package aimed at supporting implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive by leveraging the Principles for Responsible Banking. The resource can be found here.
- Further, in October of 2024, the UN Environment Programme finance initiative launched two new member guidance documents consisting of a priorities guidance for a responsible banking sector, and a roadmap for action on climate, nature, biodiversity, healthy and inclusive economies and human rights. The guidance documents can be found here.
- In October 2025, the Un Environment Programme launched the third biennial progress report on the implementation of the Un Principles for Responsible Banking. The report showcases how PBR Signatories are increasingly moving from commitment to action, and that the Signatories are outperforming peers across key sustainability metrics. The Progress Report can be found here.
Participants
As of November 2025, there are more than 350 signatories in more than 85 countries – representing more than 50% of global banking assets – to the Principles of Responsible Banking, including several Norwegian banks.
Thommessen's comments
The Principles are high-level and should in our view be uncontroversial to sign and easy to implement. The key steps are further described in a supplementing guideline.
In our view, the Principles may have an impact on the global banking industry by contributing to form sustainable market practice and banks' future behaviour.
As the signatory banks that cannot provide evidence that the necessary changes required by the Principles will lose their status as a signatory, the Principles coerce signatory banks to implement them and are therefore, in our view, highly accountable. Moreover, by committing to publicly report on the progress both negative and positive, the signatory banks gives the Principles credibility