mapping of the carbon intensity of firms or activities to financial risks and losses remains relatively unexplored. this is understandable – it is a complex area as data remain scarce, scenario analysis is still in its infancy, and worldwide, government climate policies do not yet fully internalise the cost of emissions. as i noted earlier this week, the biggest component of the journey to net - zero is the delivery of clear sector - level climate policy pathways by governments. central banks cannot and should not try to fill any gaps in that space through their micro and macro - prudential actions - for example, we are not here to deliver carbon pricing. however, we should use these tools to fulfil our role over important areas such as those i am raising today. the final area i want to explore is the importance of central banks practicing what we preach by seeking to achieve best practice through our own operations. we hold ourselves to the same high standards that we expect of the firms we regulate. consequently, we need to ensure that, wherever possible, our own financial operations, such as financial asset portfolios we hold, and our own physical operations, such as emissions from our buildings and printing banknotes, conform to best practice in the measurement, management and mitigation of climate risks. in line with this, i can confirm today that the bank is committing to reduce emissions from our physical operations so they will be consistent with net - zero by 2050 at the latest. in the spirit of transparency, last year we published a tcfd aligned climate - related financial disclosure. 8 the most challenging aspect of this report was the inclusion of analysis of the emissions associated with a monetary policy portfolio, a first for a central bank. in our forthcoming report for 2021, which will be published in the next few weeks, we have sought to build on last year ’ s content to provide additional context and analysis. in march last year, i outlined our intention to assess ways that our holdings of corporate bonds could be adjusted to take the climate impact of issuers into account whilst still meeting our monetary policy objectives. 9 last month we set out in a discussion paper our proposals for ‘ greening ’ our corporate bond purchase scheme ( cbps ). 10 there is no template for a comprehensive framework for greening an asset portfolio held for monetary policy purposes. we know that outreach and engagement is see the bank of england ’ s climate - related financial disclosure 2020, bank of england, june 2020 see appointment of andrew bailey as

in structuring smes'financing facilities including in the restructuring programmes and to provide the supporting financial advisory services. in addition, early assessments and taking the appropriate remedial actions before the financial conditions deteriorate will avoid other more costly solutions. in this highly challenging environment, smes also need to initiate their own measures to achieve greater cost efficiency and to enhance productivity improvements. this would involve looking at every facet of the business operations and to identify ways to streamline processes, eliminate waste, consolidate activities and adopt new technology and energyefficient processes. a number of funds have been established to support these enhancements. other initiatives could include the pooling of resource requirements such as the purchase of common raw materials to benefit from bulk discounts from suppliers and to share transportation costs. the chambers of commerce and industry associations can have an important coordinating role in such undertakings. experience - sharing sessions can also be organized in which successful members can share experiences in achieving cost efficiency and productivity improvements. equally important is increasing the value creation and seeking new areas of business growth. this may involve shifting resources to new areas of business or markets. in striving towards long - term competitiveness. experience has shown that the aptitude for hard work, prudent practices, the agility to adapt to changing conditions, perseverance and the ability for reinvention are some of the qualities of the successful smes in our economy. the creation of the sme credit bureau is another milestone in the development of the enabling supporting infrastructure for strengthening the sme sector. the creation of such an information credit bureau industry is a further step forward in generating a financial intermediation process that is more efficient and effective. i hope that financial institutions and the sme credit bureau would work together towards making today's initiative achieve its objective. in enhancing greater access to credit to the sme sector, it would strengthen the potential for sme contribution to the economy.