Finance
Driving sustainability in finance: DF Capital leverages carbon accounting for strategic growth

Leveraging Normative for a data-driven approach to sustainable banking: Financial expertise meets environmental leadership.
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DF Capital is a specialist lending bank based in Manchester, UK. As a forward-thinking financial institution, DF Capital is committed to integrating sustainability into its core business strategy, recognizing it as a key driver for long-term success and competitive advantage.
“Sustainability is a significant part of the firm’s success,” says Carl D’Ammassa, CEO of DF Capital. “We look at sustainability through multiple lenses—for the community, for the environment, for our employees, and of course for our customers. We believe that getting all those ingredients right means that we’ll deliver great outcomes for our customers and great outcomes for our shareholders as well.“
With the power to incentivize reduction through green loans and sustainability reporting requirements, the financial services sector plays a crucial role in the global transition to a low-carbon economy. DF Capital aims to be a trailblazer in this space, inspiring other organizations across the industry to make a difference.
Charlie Michael, DF Capital’s Chief People and Sustainability Officer, emphasizes the importance of their approach: “We believe having a robust sustainability strategy strengthens our proposition and our competitive edge.“
A key aspect of DF Capital’s sustainability strategy is its commitment to carbon accounting and emissions reduction. The company has set an ambitious goal to establish a net zero target by 2026. To achieve this, DF Capital needed a sophisticated carbon accounting solution that could provide accurate data and actionable insights.
This is where Normative came into play. “When we were first introduced to Normative, what was really, really, really outstanding to me was the fact that they listened and they really took time to understand who we were as a business, who our customers were, and what we were trying to achieve,” Charlie explains. “They were clearly experts in carbon accounting and as well the broader sustainability agenda.“
The implementation of Normative’s platform has provided DF Capital with a clear picture of its carbon footprint and the ability to track trends over time: “We present our Sustainability Scorecard on a monthly basis to our executive and board committees and as well on our annual report. A key part of that is identifying the key metrics to success around sustainability, including our carbon accounting metrics.“
Lara Bowling, Sustainability Partner at DF Capital, adds, “Normative plays a really important role in helping us gather the data so that we are able to set an attainable and sustainable net zero goal.“
The impact of this approach has been significant. DF Capital has already implemented several initiatives based on its carbon accounting data’s insights. For example, it has switched its car fleet to electric vehicles and switched its offices to a renewable energy source, both of which have resulted in measurable emissions reductions.
Looking ahead, DF Capital is committed to transparency and continuous improvement in its sustainability efforts. As Charlie puts it, “What really excites me about sustainability is being part of an organization that wants to lead from the front in their industry. And we want to inspire, engage, educate, and share knowledge with the rest of our peers across the industry so that we can create a better world for everybody that’s in it.“
By leveraging Normative’s carbon accounting platform, DF Capital is not only setting a new standard for sustainability in the financial sector but also positioning itself as a leader in responsible banking, ready to meet the evolving expectations of customers, employees, and shareholders alike.