------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------ UNEP Finance Initiatives e-bulletin ------------------------------------ Issue 18 May 2003 To view the rich text pdf format of the e-bulletin please visit: http://www.unepfi.net/ebulletin ----------------------------------- QUOTATION OF THE MONTH: "Rather than trying to play the role of social worker, senior executives should concentrate on their statutory obligations. We should not expect benevolence of them, but we should demand probity." - Michael Prowse, Financial Times - ----------------------------------- 1. UNEP FI Tokyo Roundtable Update (October 20-21, 2003) EVENT OUTCOMES 2. Insurance and Climate Change - The Finance Sector Perspective (May 12-16, 2003 - Bonn, Germany) MEMBER SHOWCASE 3. UNEP FI Welcomes Insurance Australia Group (IAG) as a New Signatory 4. The Cooperative Bank Comes Clean on Unethical Companies 5. Storebrand's New CSR Report ACTIVITIES 6. African Task Force Members Plan to Engage in Sustainable Banking Report EVENT WIRE 7. The Second Annual Green Mountain Summit on Investor Responsibility (September 14-16, 2003 - Vermont, USA) 8. First International Sustainable Energy Organisation (ISEO) General Conference in Geneva (June 17-18, 2003 - Geneva, Switzerland) NEWS 9. Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE's) Director, Retires 10. "Come Clean!" Oil and Mining Firms Told 11. Global CEOs Predict that Environmental and Social Credibility will have a Significant Impact on the Future Reputation of Multinational Corporations -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. UNEP FI Tokyo Roundtable Update 'Sustaining Value' October 20-21, 2003 - Tokyo, Japan http://www.unepfi.net/tokyo The agenda for the Tokyo Roundtable is online! Visit http://www.unepfi.net/tokyo/agenda/ to be introduced to two days brimming with thought provoking panel sessions, in-depth workshops and inspiring speakers. Under the title of 'Sustaining Value' and an overall theme of 'Governance, Accountability, Transparency, and Reporting,' bankers, insurers, asset managers, policy-makers, and civil society representatives will discuss a range of cutting edge issues including: - Business Materiality of Sustainability Risk, - Finance and Carbon Emissions, - Building SRI in Emerging Markets, - Sustainability Regulations in Investments and Pension Funds, ...and many more! A registration facility for the Roundtable will be online next month. Sponsorship and marketing opportunities are available. Do not miss this opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability to this global audience. Contacts: Philip Moss: philip.moss@unep.ch (sponsorship) Mareike Hussels: mareike.hussels@unep.ch (marketing) EVENT OUTCOMES 2. Insurance and Climate Change - The Finance Sector Perspective May 12-16, 2003 - Bonn, Germany http://unfccc.int/sessions/workshop/140503/present.html The UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) recently sent a delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)Insurance Workshops which took place in Bonn, Germany. The two workshops were held in fulfilment of the Marrakech Accords (2001), which effectively formalised the consideration of risk and climate change in the broader UNFCCC process. The first workshop provided an overview of insurance and risk assessment and touched on various risk assessment methodologies currently available. The topic of risk reduction and risk transfer products was also discussed in conjunction with various national approaches from developing nations. The second workshop focused on insurance-related actions required to address the specific needs and concerns of developing country parties arising from the adverse effects of climate change. CCWG members, Thomas Loster, Munich Re & chair of the CCWG and Dirk Kohler, Gerling, presented on the insurance industry's approach to climate risk assessment and provided their institutional thoughts on the level of awareness of the financial sector as it copes with the global challenge of climate change. Paul Clements-Hunt, Head of UNEP FI, presented the UNEP FI perspective at the commencement of the second workshop where he focused on the importance of forging innovative public-private insurance mechanisms to address climate-related losses. As a whole, the workshops provided an excellent opportunity for the finance sector to provide its input and effectively embed the UNEP FI perspective into the UNFCCC insurance discussions and the broader UNFCCC negotiations. For more information on the UNFCCC Insurance Workshops and further context on the negotiating process, as well as an update on the status of Kyoto ratification, please visit: http://unfccc.int/ Contact: Scott Flemming: scott.flemming@unep.ch MEMBER SHOWCASE 3. UNEP FI Welcomes Insurance Australia Group (IAG) as a New Signatory May 5, 2003 http://iag.com.au/ Insurance Australia Group (IAG) is Australia and New Zealand's leading general insurer. It offers personal and commercial insurance products under well-known brands including NRMA Insurance, SGIO, SGIC, CGU, Swann Insurance, State, NZI and Circle. The Statement of Environmental Commitment by the Insurance Industry was signed by IAG CEO, Michael Hawker. "By signing these statements on behalf of Insurance Australia Group's 12,000 people, we are putting our commitment to the environment and the communities in which we operate in the public domain and on the public record," said Mr Hawker. "As a leader in the financial sector and insurance industry, managing the risk we pose to the environment in how we use energy and treat and dispose of our waste is a natural extension of how we want to do business. "It makes good business sense that we publicly commit in this way to lessening our impact on the environment, which is pretty much central to influencing the business we are in, especially managing the risk associated with natural disasters such as storms, flood, bushfires and drought." 4. The Cooperative Bank Comes Clean on Unethical Companies http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/ethics/partnership.html According to The Co-operative Bank's "warts and all" Partnership Report, the value of the business lost due to ethical and ecological reasons in 2002 was £4.38m. However, its annual customer value analysis shows that the bank's ethical stance was worth £30m, or up to 24 per cent of its bottom line profit of £122.5m. The bank cannot break confidentiality and name the companies it has turned away. However, for the first time, the bank has disclosed the rationale behind its decisions and revealed what it cost in lost income. The bank's Partnership Manager, Jayne Beer, said: "I think it demonstrates that, whilst our ethical stance clearly leads to lost business, the customer value analysis shows that it has a very positive impact on our overall profits. About a third of all new personal customers join us precisely because we are prepared to turn away certain sorts of business and also go out of our way to attract others." The bank's Partnership Approach continues to win recognition both nationally and internationally: - March 2003: the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)singled out last year's Partnership report as the Best Sustainability report and last month ACCA also declared it to be the best of its kind in Europe - October 2002: first UK company to receive the Special Judges' Award for Overall Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Performance - April 2002: Queen's Award for Enterprise - Sustainable Development Category Contact: Jayne Beer: jayne.beer@co-operativebank.co.uk Tel: 0044 (0) 161 829 5505 5. Storebrand's New CSR Report http://www.storebrand.com Storebrand is a leading player in the markets for long-term savings and life insurance. Their commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR)represents a long-standing strategy that is firmly anchored in the company's corporate vision and values. The new action plan for CSR is the first attempt to integrate CSR into all their activities. Performance is measured according to the triple bottom line approach, using indicators from the internationally recognised Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This report is a result of hard work within the organisation, together with stakeholders including customers, shareholders and suppliers as well as the Norwegian and international community. Contact: Elin Merete Myrmel-Johansen: samfunnsansvar@storebrand.no ACTIVITIES 6. African Task Force Members Plan to Engage in Sustainable Banking Report http://www.unepfi.net/atf The African Task Force (ATF) Chair and Co-Chair are presently working on an action-oriented plan to involve ATF members in the development of the Sustainable Banking in Africa Report. It has recently been announced that the five case studies to be included in the report will be South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya and Senegal. The Senegalese inclusion will mark the departure of ATF activities in Francophone Africa, which will begin to meet some of the original objectives established by the ATF to become a more "all-encompassing" African initiative. Furthermore, following UNEP FI's participation in the London meeting of the EC funded CDM-CAPSSA (Capacity Building in the Private Sector in Southern Africa), plans are afoot for the UNEP FI Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) and the ATF to discuss potential cooperation with respect to finance sector involvement in climate change work in Africa. Contact: Niamh O'Sullivan: niamh.osullivan@unep.ch EVENT WIRE 7. The Second Annual Green Mountain Summit on Investor Responsibility September 14-16, 2003 - Vermont, USA http://www.sriintherockies.com/ A Forum on Environmental, Social, and Sustainable Investing is scheduled for September 14-16, 2003 in Stowe, Vermont. The Green Mountain Summit is designed as an educational forum for a wide range of institutional investors, including pension plans from the public and private sectors, endowments, foundations, trusts, and Taft-Hartley plans. 8. First International Sustainable Energy Organisation (ISEO) General Conference in Geneva June 17-18, 2003 - Geneva, Switzerland http://www.uniseo.org NEWS 9. Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE's) Director, Retires http://www.uneptie.org/dtie/farewell.htm Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel is retiring this spring after 15 years as head of what is now called UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE), headquartered in Paris. She joined UNEP in March 1987 as Director of what was then the Industry and Environment Office. UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer, who named Mrs. Aloisi de Larderel an Assistant Executive Director of UNEP in 2001, said: "Jacqueline's 15 years with UNEP have been incredibly productive. I can only speak personally for the past eight years or so, but it's safe to say she has had a hand in all the best ideas coming out of UNEP ever since she joined the organization." "One of her strongest points is the relationships she has built up over the years with private business: the proof is in UNEP's voluntary initiatives with sectors such as finance and tourism, as well as the industry sector reports published for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). But perhaps her greatest strength is twofold: her ability to explain the issues, all the while focusing on the positive." "For these and a multitude of other reasons, I appreciate this opportunity to say to her: thank you for your many years of service, and all the best in your endeavours for the future." 10. "Come Clean!" Oil and Mining Firms Told http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&DocId=MTIzOA The Guardian May 21, 2003 Ten of Britain's top institutional investors have called on oil and mining companies to publish all payments made to governments, in an effort to stamp out corruption. Jupiter, Schroders and ISIS are among the firms that have thrown their support behind the government-backed extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI). The issue has been given added urgency by the controversy surrounding the award of reconstruction contracts in Iraq and legal cases involving Mobil, now part of Exxon, and Elf, now owned by Total. Payments and transparency are becoming a hot topic and are due to be discussed at the French-chaired G8 summit in Evian from June 1-3. "Reform will give the extractive companies in which we invest an opportunity to be seen as contributors to, and not just beneficiaries of, economic development and reconstruction," said Karina Litvack, head of governance and socially responsible investment at ISIS. 11. Global CEOs Predict that Environmental and Social Credibility will have a Significant Impact on the Future Reputation of Multinational Corporations http://www.cus.cam.ac.uk/~akob2/ReputationsSurvey.html Research released today by the Judge Institute of Management, Cambridge's Business School, suggests that environmental and social credibility will have a significant impact on the future reputation of Multinational corporations - they will be as important as financial credibility. 34% of the CEOs from the Global Fortune 500 completed the survey - if combined the revenues of their respective companies' amount to almost US$5 Trillion. Taken holistically this small group of people controls the direction of massive capital flows, their daily decisions affecting the current and future lives of billions worldwide. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe: email: LISTSERV@peach.ease.lsoft.com and in the body of the email type "signoff UNEPFI" 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 Chief Editor: Paul Clements-Hunt 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 2003 - UNEP FI