In November, we reconvened the Perseus Steering Group, co-chaired by the British Business Bank and Icebreaker One. This meeting aims were to:

  1. Confirm positions on Greening Finance in 2026
  2. Get operational updates
  3. Sentiment check on the proposed Executive Summary

Summary:

It was agreed that:

  • The shift from financing green to greening finance continues to be the correct framing for 2026 as it broadens the scope beyond green-linked loans to all relevant financial products and services, and better aligns with shifts in language such as productivity, resilience, efficiency and cost reduction.

It was noted that:

  • Tony Greenham was thanked for his significant contribution to Perseus as 2025 co-chair.
  • Hannah Gilbert, Director of Sustainability at the British Business Bank will take over from Tony Greenham as co-chair for 2026. Hannah brings a strong background in trust-based data sharing from her open banking fintech experience.
  • Several financial institutions are moving away from using the term green finance due to policy and market uncertainty.
  • The proliferation of third-party emissions datasets carries a risk of poor-quality SME estimates, reinforcing the importance of assurable data.
  • The DOC considers project management, financial position and risk controls as satisfactory.
  • AG1 segmentation work will both identify data-ready, higher-emitting sectors whilst ensuring that all SMEs are considered, and that language should be aligned with business outcomes and industrial strategy priorities.
  • AG2 confirmed that the sandbox is operational, the national risk assessment is complete, and gas-data methodology has been approved. Work continues toward production readiness.
  • AG3 & AG5 activity has been minimal as no major legal or policy barriers have been identified. Alignment work with regulators continues.
  • AG4 communications will focus on the greening-finance narrative and the upcoming report launch.
  • Priorities for 2026 include scheme-as-a-service onboarding, development of FSP case studies, integration of gas data, and progress on consumer consent solutions.

It was discussed that:

  • Nature-related factors (e.g. biodiversity, water, land use) are becoming increasingly significant for investors and are viewed as drivers of resilience.
  • Scope expansion and interaction with parallel initiatives (e.g. Project Orion) should continue to be monitored.