'Big climate impact' on UK coasts

Of the diversified banks, the report issued Thursday by the Ceres investor coalition based in Boston ranks HSBC Holdings at the top and the Bank of China at the foot of the list.

Established in 1865 as the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, and now based in London, HSBC Holdings is the world's largest financial group in terms of market capitalization.

Jon Williams, head of Group Sustainable Development, HSBC Holdings, said on a telephone news conference call Thursday that the bank is "committed to playing a leading role in finding and funding solutions to climate change." He said HSBC "has a longstanding commitment to climate change as the single largest social and environmental challenge this century."

Calling HSBC "the world's first carbon neutral bank," Williams explained that the bank has reduced its direct climate impacts by investing $90 million to improve the environmental efficiency of its buildings and has offset the greenhouse gases emitted by the energy used by its buildings since 2005.