The tilt programme aims to provide banks with the sustainability data needed to assist SMEs with their transformation into a low-carbon transition (tilt) and to ensure a just and nature-consistent future.
Transforming in a low carbon transition
The tilt database is a free, open-source database and methodology to assess European SMEs and their climate profiles. We aim to provide banks with the sustainability data needed to assist SMEs in their journey towards a low-carbon future and to ensure that the transition is just and nature-consistent. tilt is an independent venture launched by Theia Finance Labs and funded by the EU LIFE PASTAX grant, financial institutions, and the philanthropic community.
The objective of tilt
With tilt banks will be enabled to incorporate climate considerations into their lending processes for European SMEs in three ways:
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- Risk management: tilt seeks to enable the financial sector to better identify and manage climate transition risk assessment across SME lending portfolios.
- Climate engagement: tilt can also guide banks in engagement activities with SMEs to increase finance for mitigation and adaptation measures and therefore accelerating a just, nature-consistent and low carbon transition.
- Compliance: tilt seeks to drive the adoption of EU regulation (as for example the European Banking Authority pillar 3 disclosures on ESG risks). The data and methodology can help improve the quality, depth and scale of climate disclosures by financial institutions.
Our partners: tilt and its collaborative approach
Having collaborated with European banks to create a user-group of banks, we invited participants to contribute to methodology which will assess the transition, physical and sustainability risks of companies. The contribution of ABN Amro, BBVA, Banque Internationale à Luxembourg S.A., La Banque Postale, Credit Agricole and ING as User-group banks and road testing partners continues to be of great relevance and assistance in developing appropriate climate assessment methodology for non-listed SMEs.
Within the scope of this 2.5 year project, starting in October 2021, to date Theia Finance Labs has developed a database with about 280,000 SMEs covering 12 climate-relevant sectors and over 20,000 assessed products. We continue to refine the database and indicators throughout 2023, by road testing different versions of tilt by the aforementioned banks and be launched as a web-based tool by mid-year 2024.
