------------------------------------------------------------------------ Issue 12a November/December 2002 www.unepfi.net/ebulletin EVENT OUTCOMES 1. UNEP FI Strengthens its Roots in Asia (October 26-30, 2002 ? Tokyo, Japan) 2. UNFCCC Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP 8) (October 30, 2002 ? New Delhi, India) 3. Environment and Export Credit Agencies (November 6-8, 2002 ? Hamburg, Germany) 4. UNEP FI Engages in the Governance Debate (November 14-15, 2002 ? Monte Carlo, Monaco) MEMBER SHOWCASE 5. UNEP FI Welcomes Two New Japanese Signatories ACTIVITIES 6. UNEP FI to Release Report Detailing Almost Two Years of Progress 7. UNEP FI Starts Work with the UN Global Compact 8. Environmental Management and Reporting Multi-Stakeholder Review Process 9. Rating Agencies and Financial Markets (January 8, 2003 ? Paris, France) EVENT WIRE 10. European Seminar on Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development (January 10, 2003 ? Paris, France) 11. UNEP FI Annual Global Roundtable (Fourth Quarter of 2003 ? Tokyo, Japan) For information on creative marketing opportunities in this or other UNEP FI publications please contact fi@unep.ch ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- EVENT OUTCOMES 1. UNEP FI Strengthens its Roots in Asia UNEP FI signs MoU with ASrIA at SRI event in Japan http://www.asria.org/ October 26-30, 2002 ? Tokyo, Japan Around three hundred delegates gathered for the Annual International Conference of the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA). The event was the first international conference on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in Japan. Topics of discussion included the challenges for developing SRI in Asia and SRI strategies for pensions in Asia. Paul Clements-Hunt, Head of UNEP FI, provided the keynote presentation for the event, and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UNEP FI and ASrIA. This signing exhibited both parties? appreciation of past collaboration and pronounced their intent to cooperate further in the promotion of environmentally sound business practices and sustainable development across the financial services sector in the region. Contact: Ken Maguire: ken.maguire@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8178 2. UNFCCC Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP 8) The official launch of the UNEP FI landmark study: ?Climate Change and the Financial Services Industry? http://www.unepfi.net/cc October 30, 2002 ? New Delhi, India The UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group (CCwg) recently held a side event to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Eighth Conference of the Parties in New Delhi, India. The event was titled: Climate Change and the Financial Services Industry ? A Partnership Perspective. The event presented to governments the UNEP FI CCwg?s groundbreaking study, ?Climate Change and the Financial Services Industry?. The study identified the threats of climate change to economic stability and the opportunities it presents for the financial sector. The event included presentations from members of the working group including Thomas Loster (Head of Weather/Climate Risks Research, Swiss Re), Andrew Dlugolecki (Director, Andlug Consulting) and Nigel Baker (Greenhouse Gas Risk Solutions, Swiss Re). An interactive panel discussion followed that was facilitated by Paul Clements-Hunt on behalf of UNEP FI. Following this event in New Delhi, the CCwg is in a position to consider the implementation of the next steps recommended within the study. These steps identify the creation of three task forces that will involve awareness raising, the development of asset management methodology that will capture climate change implications and the development of a project finance methodology that integrates climate change into the process. The UNEP FI climate change working group will present its new 2003-2004 work programme, including the recommendations from the study, to the overall UNEP FI Steering Group for consideration in January 2003. Contact: Scott Flemming: scott.flemming@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8268 3. Environment and Export Credit Agencies (ECA) The Second UNEP Workshop on the Environment http://www.unepfi.net/hamburg November 6-8, 2002 ? Hamburg, Germany The Second UNEP Workshop on the Environment was jointly organised by UNEP Energy and UNEP FI and hosted by the German Export Credit Agency, Hermes Kreditversicherungs-AG. The event brought together approximately 80 participants from 16 countries for a two-day session. The event explored two focal areas in the context of ECAs. Day one focused the discussion of practical steps to introduce and implement these environmental monitoring provisions into a given project. Day two built on the discussions of last year?s workshop, identifying the financial risks and opportunities of climate change as they pertain to ECAs. Overall, the workshop provided an opportunity to help ECAs learn how to implement environmental guidelines and consider innovative products they could offer to respond to the global challenge of climate change. A number of ECAs have since expressed interest in hosting a third ?Workshop on the Environment? in the coming months and in possibly contributing to the formation of specific working groups to advance some of the issues and ideas raised during the event. Contact: Scott Flemming: scott.flemming@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8268 4. UNEP FI Engages in the Governance Debate The Global Responsibility Forum http://www.global-responsibility.org/ November 14-15, 2002 ? Monte Carlo, Monaco The Global Responsibility Forum was held in order to discuss and raise participant consciousness on the movement towards greater corporate governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), along with discussion on the development of the Socially Responsibility Investment (SRI) industry. Highlights of the event included a discussion with Anders Wijkman (Member of the European Parliament) on the implications of the ?EU White paper on European Governance? for financial markets; presentations on corporate governance and CSR issues from around the globe; and the announcement of the Royal Award for the Best Responsible Investment to be presented at the UNEP FI Tokyo Roundtable in the fourth quarter of 2003. Contact: Kiki Lawal: kiki.lawal@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8253 MEMBER SHOWCASE 5. UNEP FI Welcomes Two New Japanese Signatories http://www.smbc.co.jp/global/ http://www.nipponkoa.co.jp/english/ In the past few months UNEP FI has welcomed two new signatories. On June 28, 2002 Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation joined UNEP FI. In April 2001 Sakura Bank and Sumitomo Bank merged to form Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Capital Stock YEN 1,276,7 billion). With over 25,000 employees and 564 domestic branches Sumitomo Mitsui has over Yen 102,082 Billion in assets. On August 2, 2002 NIPPONKOA Insurance Co., Ltd. joined UNEP FI. The company was formed in April 2001 by the merger of The Nippon Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd., a company founded in 1892, and The Koa Fire & Marine Insurance Co., Ltd., which was founded in 1918. This merger created a large-scale, comprehensive insurance group that commands a market share of more than 10% in Japan's non-life insurance industry, which is the second largest in the world following the United States. Contact: Ken Maguire: ken.maguire@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8178 ACTIVITIES 6. UNEP FI to Release Report Detailing Almost Two Years of Progress Twenty one months of finance and sustainability action http://www.unepfi.net/gcr The Johannesburg Summit (WSSD) confirmed the importance of the relationship between finance and sustainability. Will financial institutions and capital markets become a key driver of sustainability? This fundamental question remains unanswered. Now, the UNEP Finance Initiatives will do its part to shine light on this complex issue and, in April 2003, will release a report covering twenty-one months of the ?UNEP FI Global Consultation on Finance and Sustainability.? The report will include: · Comprehensive summaries of key UNEP FI finance and sustainability meetings from around the globe including participant lists. · Super summaries of the UNEP FI events at the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) including coverage of the day-long UNEP FI African Task Force conference. · A summary report from the March 2002 UNEP FI Global Roundtable in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. · Coverage of UNEP FI climate change events in Bonn, Marrakech and New Delhi. · A CD-ROM containing more than 240 presentations drawn from 12 UNEP FI meetings held during 2001-2002. · The CD-ROM will also contain free copies of the following: the UNEP-World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) report ?Financing for Sustainable Development?; the Finance and Insurance sector report for WSSD; and the UNEP FI October 2002 landmark report exploring the role of the financial sector in confronting climate change. The full price of this report is US$500, but a discount of 30% is available if ordering before the 31st January, 2003. Contact: Robert Reid: robert.reid@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8253 7. UNEP FI Starts Work with the UN Global Compact The pursuit of good corporate citizenship http://65.214.34.30/un/gc/unweb.nsf/ The UN Global Compact is an international initiative originating from the office of the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan. It brings companies together with UN agencies, labour, non-governmental organizations and other civil-society actors to foster action and partnerships in the pursuit of good corporate citizenship. As one of the core agencies involved in the Global Compact ? along with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) ? UNEP has named the Finance Initiatives Unit to lead the Financial Working Group on Investors and Sustainability. Under UNEP FI guidance, the working group aims to develop a business case for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI). Chairing the working group is Julie Gorte, Director of Social Research at Calvert Group, a leading North American SRI fund group. Contact: Philip Moss: philip.moss@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8253 8. Environmental Management and Reporting (EMR) Multi-Stakeholder Review Process The development of ?International Guidelines on Environmental Management and Reporting for the Finance Sector? http://www.unepfi.net From November 26-29 UNEP FI, in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), London, convened a series of preliminary stakeholder consultation workshops as part of the overall stakeholder consultation process on the development of ?International Guidelines on Environmental Management and Reporting for the Finance Sector?. These guidelines have been developed over the last 18 months by UNEP FI?s Environmental Management and Reporting working group (EMRwg) and are aimed at producing best practice standards for the finance sector as well as minimum standards for UNEP FI signatories. The workshops will take place in PwC regional offices in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe, and aim to capture and incorporate both financial and non-financial sector perspectives on the draft guidelines before their finalisation and launch in 2003. The North and South American sections of the workshop series will take place through on-line consultation with relevant regional stakeholders until December 10. These deliberations are an essential part of the environmental management and reporting project, reinforcing UNEP FI?s commitment to multi-stakeholder dialogues throughout all aspects of our work programmes. Participants will not only have the opportunity to influence the success of UNEP FI environmental management and reporting guidelines and multi-stakeholder dialogues, but also the general progression of sustainable development within the global financial sector. Contact: Niamh O?Sullivan: niamh.osullivan@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8178 9. Rating Agencies and Financial Markets UNEP FI steps onto yet another financial platform January 8, 2002 ? Paris, France In the United States, only 3 credit rating agencies have government accreditation as Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations: Fitch IBCA, Moody?s Investor Services and Standard and Poors. Ratings from these agencies dictate the terms of capital flow across most global markets. Understanding the critical role these agencies play in the financial sector and the implications of current Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews that have arisen from the Sarbanes-Oxley act, UNEP FI will be hosting an invitation-only event with senior executives and regulatory officials to explore how developing governance and related risk issues will affect rating agencies and the markets at large. Contact: Philip Moss: philip.moss@unep.ch Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8253 EVENT WIRE 10. European Seminar on Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development January 10, 2003 ? Paris, France The European Seminar on Finance, Environment and Sustainable Development is intended to highlight the issues addressed during the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg. Enlightening new challenges and opportunities, the seminar will introduce innovative tools and techniques for enhanced risk management and assessment of emerging commercial opportunities linked to sustainability. This seminar will be an opportunity for participants to obtain and exchange information specific to the finance, insurance and investment sectors with regard to: · Environment risk management · Corporate responsibility of financial and insurance institutions · Integrating Sustainability Criteria into Fund Management · Climate Change, Fiduciary Responsibility and Disclosure The cost of the seminar will be ?50. Please be aware that seating is limited so securing your registration documentation promptly is advised. Contact: Kiki Lawal: kiki.lawal@unepfi.net Tel: +41 (0) 22 917 8253 11. UNEP FI Annual Global Roundtable http://unepfi.net/tokyo Fourth Quarter of 2003 ? Tokyo, Japan UNEP FI is pleased to announce that the Development Bank of Japan has offered to host the 2003 UNEP FI Roundtable in Tokyo, Japan. The Annual Roundtable is the premiere opportunity for signatories to the UNEP Finance and Insurance Initiatives to showcase best practices, as well as discuss new ideas and future challenges. Contact: Trevor Bowden: trevor.bowden@unep.ch ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- To unsubscribe: email: LISTSERV@peach.ease.lsoft.com and in the body of the email type ?signoff UNEP FI? To subscribe: email: LISTSERV@peach.ease.lsoft.com and in the body of the email type ?subscribe UNEP FI? END. The UNEP FI e-bulletin is a monthly publication of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives. United Nations Environment Programme Division of Technology, Industry and Economics Economics and Trade Branch Finance Initiatives Unit Editors: Robert Reid robert.reid@unep.ch Jacob Malthouse malthouj@unep.ch Disclaimer: The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of UNEP or UNEP FI, or of its signatories, nor does UNEP FI or its signatories take any responsibility for actions taken as a result of views or opinions expressed in this publication. Copyright 2002 - UNEP FI