Climate Collaboration Forum – Launch Roundtable

The Climate Collaboration Forum launched in May 2025 to examine how financial services can play a more constructive role in supporting the UK’s climate transition. Hosted by Virgin Money in Glasgow and convened by FinTech-Tables, the Forum brought together leaders from banking, ESG data, fintech, policy, and advisory services to explore the barriers slowing climate progress, particularly in the context of retrofitting UK homes and embedding digital tools into climate finance.

The discussion highlighted a recurring tension across the sector: finance is a critical enabler of climate action, but it cannot create momentum on its own. Participants reflected on the limited visibility of retrofit value, fragmented supply chains, inconsistent data, and behavioural friction that continues to undermine consumer engagement. Technical capability exists, yet the systems connecting finance, suppliers, and households remain underdeveloped.

Throughout the keynote contributions and group dialogue, several themes emerged. Digital tools, despite their potential, are not yet embedded into climate workflows at scale. Consumer demand remains low, shaped as much by uncertainty and lack of trusted routes to action as by cost. Organisations continue to face internal constraints, including cultural resistance and fragmented ownership of climate responsibility. Across the ecosystem, collaboration is held back more by structure than intent.

Participants emphasised that progress depends on clearer visibility, stronger data integration, and more consistent coordination between lenders, suppliers, technology providers, and policymakers. The Forum created space to surface these realities candidly, without seeking premature consensus. What emerged was a shared recognition that while progress is happening, it is uneven, and that future gains will depend on creating the mechanisms, standards, and trusted partnerships needed to translate ambition into coordinated delivery.