A Perseus Steering Group was convened on 2026-02-23. Co-chaired by the British Business Bank and Icebreaker One, the Perseus Steering Group includes major trade associations that represent stakeholders, UK Government and international observers. It plays a critical role in engagement, dissemination, and fostering trust in decision-making.
Date: Monday 23 February 2026 13:00-15:00 GMT
Location: online
Co-Chairs: Gavin Starks (IB1); Hannah Gilbert (British Business Bank)
Secretariat: IB1
Meeting Aims
- Agree on updated vision and mission
- Understand 2026 roadmap
- Update on DOC and AG
- Commit to amplifying case studies
- Identify funding sources
Summary:
- It was agreed that:
- Case studies are the critical success metric for 2026. The ambition is to secure at least five examples that demonstrate real-world application.
- Alignment with the Net Zero Council and the Smart Data Council agenda should continue, positioning Perseus as an exemplar of Smart Data implementation and Net Zero innovation.
- It was noted that:
- The 2025 AGM reflected strong engagement from key stakeholders and financial service providers (including incumbents NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds and challenger banks).
- Language has evolved to “embedded sustainable finance”, with continued emphasis on SME impact.
- Sandbox learnings (AG2) identified and resolved integration challenges (e.g. with certificate authentication, improved documentation and clarity of roles, setup guides, tooling and specifications have been developed in response).
- Legal updates (AG3) incorporate gas into permission text, clarify CAP-initiated (two-click) and FSP-initiated (single-click) consent journeys; Scheme agreement documentation has been consolidated; changes remain compliant with prior external legal advice.
- Annual renewals remain the current funding model, with forecast renewals on track but cashflow risk recognised and multi-annual renewals should be considered.
- The relationship with B4NZ (formerly ‘Bankers for Net Zero’) was recognised as having been supportive in the formation of the programme, and there is no ongoing relationship with that initiative.
- Adam Jackson has accepted the role of DOC Chair.
- It was discussed that:
- The proposed new vision, “Embedded sustainable finance for SMEs”, provides a clear and memorable direction of travel. Further refinement of mission language will be considered to ensure terminology resonates with SMEs.
- The SME focus remains strategically valuable for maintaining clarity and discipline. Discussion included whether anchoring exclusively on SMEs may constrain broader use cases and it was noted that related initiatives (e.g. ib1.org/Orion and ib1.org/carbon-commons) had been created as channels to help develop ideas without distracting from Perseus’ core mission.
- Case study development faces practical barriers: delays often arise from internal processes and time constraints, rather than inherent SME reluctance. It was noted that the majority SMEs day-to-day concerns are focussed on cash, not sustainability, and that Perseus’ strategy to reduce both cost and friction for SMEs (including ‘taking solutions to where the SME already are’) was the correct approach.
Next meeting: Monday 18 May 2026 13:00-15:00 BST
Formal records, including attendees, are maintained by the secretariat.
These are confidential to the Steering Group Members.