LONDON (Reuters) – British lender HSBC said on Tuesday it had appointed Natalie Blyth as Global Head of Commercial Banking Sustainability, as part of the company’s efforts to help corporate clients transition to a low-carbon economy.
Blyth, a member of the commercial bank’s executive committee who has been at the bank for 14 years, begins her new role immediately and will report to Global Commercial Banking Chief Executive Barry O’Byrne, HSBC said in a statement.
In addition, the bank said it had appointed Christian Deseglise as Group Head of Sustainable Infrastructure and Innovation, and Chris Webb as Group Head of Carbon Markets.
Deseglise, previously Head of Sustainable Finance and Investments in Global Banking and Markets, would focus on developing ventures to help the bank meet its commitment to spend $1 trillion financing the net-zero shift.
Webb joins the bank from environmental organisation The Nature Conservancy, where he led the group’s carbon markets strategy. Both will report to Group Chief Sustainability Officer Celine Herweijer, HSBC said.
“We have a huge agenda ahead to be at the heart of financing the transition to net zero. We want to lead with capability not commitments and drive innovation and impact at scale,” Herweijer said.
“These appointments are critical roles, and we want to be a top destination for sustainability and climate talent around the world as we build further.”
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
