The word banker doesn't usually conjure images of placard-wielding activists marching to save the planet. However, recent research carried out by Addleshaw Goddard suggests that bankers are currently in a unique position to positively influence the business community on climate action.

We surveyed a thousand European business leaders, funders, investors and insurers and their responses brought into sharp focus the role of bankers as sustainability activists.

Our research revealed that 92 per cent of businesses have been influenced to act more sustainably by banks. These figures highlight how banks are arguably the most influential drivers for change at present, wielding greater influence than both regulators and investors.

However, that degree of influence is expected to wane. By 2025 it is forecast that banks will fall from pole position as influencers to only the fifth most influential group. So now is the time for banks to capitalise on that position of influence.

Admittedly banks are already taking action. They are offering more favourable terms on deposits to sustainable businesses, they offer green loans to support green activities and sustainability-linked loans to businesses willing to improve their sustainability metrics - whether relating to their environmental or social impact.

This is all laudable. Yet our research reveals that on average only a very modest five per cent of bank revenue stems from these activities and even by 2030 that is only anticipated to rise to eight per cent. Franklin D. Roosevelt famously said "Great power involves great responsibility", but are banks failing to grasp the available opportunity to be a force for good?

It seems not. Our research also revealed that in addition to offering these green or sustainable products, banks are also proposing to wield their power in a far more dramatic way. Some banks have already drawn lines in the sand, for example, refusing to fund certain carbon intensive activities. Furthermore, they plan to stop funding businesses that have not adequately addressed their transition to a sustainable future. For some sectors, such as real estate and healthcare, the majority of funders will turn off the funding tap by 2025, giving those businesses just four years to create and deploy a strategy for transition to a sustainable future. By 2030 it is anticipated that almost all banks will stop lending to businesses that have failed to adequately address the transition to a sustainable future.

If carried out, this threat is likely to have a powerful and positive impact on both the planet and on society. On a more positive note, European banks clearly have a role to play in educating their business customers, and encouraging them to adopt a sustainable strategy swiftly and put in place the structures required to embed that strategy and deliver on it.

Following the launch of Addleshaw Goddard's new research, 'Sustainability: Pain to Net Gain', they will be running a series of free panel events to discuss major themes explored within the findings. For more details on the events and to register, click here.