SEB wins Swedish Greenwash Prize for fossil fuel financing

The Swedish bank SEB has been awarded the ‘Svenska greenwashpriset’ (Swedish Greenwash Prize) for the first time. The award, presented by the environmental organization Jordens Vänner at the Gothenburg Book Fair, is an ironic anti-prize intended to highlight discrepancies between corporate sustainability claims and actual financial activities.

According to Jordens Vänner, while SEB uses imagery of nature and promises of a green transition in its marketing, the bank remains a major financier of fossil fuels. The organization noted that between 2022 and 2024, SEB provided 30 billion SEK in loans to fossil fuel companies, more than any other Swedish bank. Additionally, the bank has been criticized for financing new oil drilling in the Arctic and for being the first Swedish bank to collaborate with nuclear weapons manufacturers.

Karmapriya Muschött, chairperson of Jordens Vänner, stated that sustainability is ultimately about which future a bank chooses to finance, arguing that it is insufficient to speak of responsibility if capital continues to support fossil extraction or nuclear armament. SEB won the award by a narrow margin over finalists Skistar and the ‘Svenska Gruvan’ campaign.