A relationship manager sits down with an SME client for their annual review. On the list:
turnover, headcount, working capital needs — and now, increasingly, questions about
energy usage and emissions. For many RMs, this feels like one more compliance box to
tick.
But what if that same conversation became the moment a bank actually deepened the
relationship?
That’s the opportunity hiding inside a regulatory obligation.
The Regulatory Squeeze Banks Can’t Ignore
Banks are under real pressure to understand transition risk across their SME and
private-company portfolios. According to the Bank of England’s supervisory statement
SS5/25 on climate-related risks, firms are expected to embed climate considerations
into risk management and reporting in a structured, evidenced way — not as an
afterthought.
The problem is data. SME transition data isn’t missing — it’s fragmented. Businesses
hold information on energy use, contracts and sustainability activity, but it sits
scattered across spreadsheets, supplier invoices and inboxes, never streamlined into
anything a bank can use for financed emissions reporting under PCAF.
That leaves sustainability and coverage teams stuck manually chasing data that’s:
• Inconsistent in format and quality
• Out of date within months of collection
• Impossible to benchmark across a portfolio
Turning a Data Ask into a Value Exchange
This is where the Climate Action platform, developed and deployed by NatWest and
National Australia Bank, changes the equation. Built on TDH’s underlying sustainability
intelligence, it reframes data collection as a service exchange rather than a request.
Instead of a survey that only benefits the bank, customers get something back
immediately:
• Free access to monitor energy usage and identify savings opportunities
• Real-time visibility into their own emissions position
• Practical resources to prepare for frameworks like ISO standards or supply chain
readiness requirements
The bank, in turn, gets validated, structured transition data for regulatory reporting —
collected because the customer wanted to engage, not because they were told to.
What This Means for Relationship Managers
The RM conversation changes shape entirely. Instead of “we need this data for
compliance,” it becomes “share your transition data through the platform, and you
could unlock preferential lending rates.” One is an obligation. The other is a reason to
pick up the phone.
For sustainability and coverage teams, that shift matters commercially. A platform
customers actually want to use produces better completion rates, fresher data, and
more natural entry points for future conversations — around lending, working capital, or
transition finance products.
Get in Touch
If your bank is looking to turn transition data collection into a customer engagement
tool rather than a compliance exercise, talk to our team about how the Climate Action
platform, developed and deployed by NatWest and National Australia Bank, has been
built to close this gap
