Dutch banks on Tuesday called for better information from companies on just how much CO2 they emit, so they can adjust their investment policy accordingly.

The call came from 11 of the Dutch banks in a joint climate statement.

At the moment, companies do not have to report on their CO2 emissions and the banks say this makes things difficult for them because they have to undertake their own investigation into the sustainability of their investments.

The banks now want more information from companies on how green they really are, broadcaster Nos reports.

‘This is bound to lead to some investments being thrown overboard,’ Chris Buijink of the Dutch banking association told the Nos. ‘The more transparent, the tougher the talks between banks and companies will be.’

Environment economist Karen Maas of the Erasmus University told the broadcaster this is just a step in the right direction but does not go far enough. ‘The banks need to take collective action to get rid of some of their investments.’

Last month, the two large pension funds ABP and PGGM said they are making their investment policy more sustainable.