Barclays’ Group Head of Sustainability Laura Barlow has stepped down from her position at the UK-based bank, ESG Today has confirmed. A spokesperson from Barclays said that Barlow will continue to work for the bank as an advisor.

Barlow joined Barclays in 2021, and has been serving as Group Head of Sustainability, responsible for leading the firm’s strategy, policy and implementation programs on climate change, ESG and sustainability. She joined the bank from NatWest, where she served as Head of Large Corporate and Institutional Banking, and as executive sponsor of climate strategy and Climate and Sustainable Finance.

Since the start of her tenure at Barclays, the bank has set a target to facilitate $1 trillion of sustainable and transition financing between 2023 by the end of 2030, and strengthened its policies in areas such as fossil fuels and deforestation, including a new policy announced last year to no longer directly finance new oil and gas projects, and to require its energy sector clients to produce transition plans or decarbonization strategies. Barclays has also made a series of moves to expand its sustainable finance capabilities and teams, including the launch in 2024 of a new Energy Transition Group within its Corporate and Investment Bank, and a Sustainable Banking Group within its Capital Markets business.

Following Barlow’s departure from her position, Daniel Hanna has taken on an expanded role, ESG Today confirmed. Hanna joined Barclays from Standard Chartered in 2022 as Global Head of Sustainable Finance for the Corporate and Investment Bank, and has recently been appointed by the bank as Group Head of Sustainable & Transition Finance.

The announcement comes as banks are facing increased scrutiny by regulators, governments and stakeholders over their sustainability and sustainable finance practices and policies. Most recently, several U.S. banks announced that they would exit the Net Zero Banking Association (NZBA) over the past few weeks, following growing threats from anti-ESG policymakers. Barclay’s has also been the subject of anti-ESG scrutiny in the U.S., with Texas announcing last year that it identified the bank as a potential “fossil fuel boycotter” due to its participation in the NZBA and had banned the firm from participating as an underwriter in the municipal bond market. While facing pressure in some corners over its moves to restrict fossil fuel financing, the bank has also faced scrutiny from investors and sustainability-focused groups over its continued financing of oil and gas companies.