British multinational bank Standard Chartered has announced the launch of Sustainable Account, a new solution that enables corporate clients to contribute to sustainable development while maintaining daily access to their cash. 

After an initial launch in the UK and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Sustainable Account solution will be rolled out to other markets over the next year.

In a company statement, Standard Chartered said Sustainable Account offers clients the flexibility of an account where they can retain access to their cash for day-to-day liquidity needs, and use surplus cash to support the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Cash placed into Sustainable Account will be referenced against projects aligned with Standard Chartered’s Green and Sustainable Product Framework. 

This framework guides what qualifies as “green” and “sustainable”, and is mapped against the UN SDGs. 

Michael Spiegel, global head of transaction banking at Standard Chartered, said: “Sustainable Account caters to the increasing demand from corporate clients for simple, innovative, and credible sustainable banking solutions. 

“It builds on our existing sustainable trade finance and export letter of credit propositions, and is in line with our efforts to offer our clients a holistic, sustainable transaction banking offering.”

Developed with the support of Sustainalytics – an independent provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and ratings – Sustainable Account means that corporate clients will not need to allocate additional resources for separate assessments. 

Clients can also understand the impact of the sustainable finance assets that their deposits are referenced against by referring to the Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance Impact Report.