As 2025 draws to a close, we reflect on a year that has seen responsible banks and sustainable insurers continue to build more resilient businesses and deliver real economy impact. Throughout the year, UNEP FI has supported its members in operationalising commitments and navigating increasingly complex regulatory environments and sustainable transitions; this review highlights just some of the achievements of the UN-convened network, now comprising more than 500 banks and insurers.

The value that members and their stakeholders are deriving from their efforts to integrate sustainability is clear. The release in October of the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB)’s third biennial Progress Report outlined how PRB signatories are moving from commitment to measurable action and demonstrating tangible impacts on the real economy and society. For the first time, the progress report included independent third-party data illustrating how the Responsible Banking community significantly outperforms its peers across key sustainability and financial measures. It includes analysis from the MSCI Institute, revealing that 61% of PRB signatories lead their industry in managing financially material sustainability risks and opportunities (compared to 23% of non-PRB banks) and that PRB signatories paid one percentage point less on average for equity and debt capital.

2025’s insurance programme of work included clear steps for the global insurance industry towards embedding sustainability and nature-positive strategies into core business. The number of signatories and supporting institutions to the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) membership has grown to over 275 organizations worldwide, representing close to 70 countries. Progress is demonstrated in recent analysis from the MSCI Institute, which found that the PSI signatories observed tend to be at a more mature stage in adopting practices to manage sustainability risks in underwriting and investments compared with non-signatories.

UNEP FI continued to drive thought leadership and knowledge across the finance industry with 40 research and guidance papers and 50 online learning sessions. The updated Human Rights Tool was released at the beginning of the year, with nearly 50 signatories engaged in the UNEP FI’s Human Rights Community of Practice. Publications on client engagement, transition plans, circular economy finance, pollution, nature, sustainability risks and impacts, ocean-related investment, and adaptation and resilience are just some of the resources that members have helped to shape. These initiatives help banks and insurers position their businesses for emerging risks and opportunities. They also help members to anticipate and prepare for rapidly evolving sustainable finance regulations and reporting requirements, and changes in the value drivers across sectors. Meanwhile, UNEP FI’s policy and regulation work supported members in understanding emerging regulatory measures in several jurisdictions.

Every other year, UNEP FI brings members together in their regions, providing a platform to shape regional agendas toward a greener more just economy and engage with policymakers, scientists, civil society, and academia. In 2025, UNEP FI’s Regional Roundtables on Sustainable Finance convened well over 1,300 participants from more than 50 countries and at least 150 institutions, with nearly 300 speakers contributing across the five events held in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East, Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe. 2025 brought a new focus through a series of members’ only sessions to facilitate cross-industry dialogue.

Embedding nature and transition planning across the insurance industry 

Nature remained a major focus for the PSI in 2025 – driven by the work of the PSI Working Group for Nature and its commitment to translating the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework into action. The rollout of the Nature Uncovered for Insurers series, Rooted in Risk, launched during London Climate Week, helped insurers build a strong technical foundation for nature-related assessments. Breaking Ground, published in October, guided insurers from conceptual frameworks to concrete disclosure-aligned insights. Collectively, this work is helping insurers embed nature considerations into underwriting in a way that is credible and forward-looking.

Managed within the PSI, the V20 Sustainable Insurance Facility (V20-SIF) strengthened approaches to insurability for SMEs across climate-vulnerable economies through engagement with banks, insurers, regulators, and development partners. This regional approach ensured that solutions were tailored to local market needs and embedded in broader climate and resilience strategies.

The Forum for Insurance Transition (FIT) now includes over 50 organizations working to support the necessary acceleration and scaling up of voluntary climate action by the insurance industry and key stakeholders. The FIT identified transition planning as the forum’s first area of focus. Building on Closing the Gap, launched at COP29 in November 2024, the FIT released Underwriting the Transition – the first comprehensive framework for insurance transition plan development and disclosure – addressing a significant gap in existing transition plan guidance for the insurance industry. The third deliverable of the FIT’s Transition Plan Project, A Total Balance Sheet Transition, was released at COP30, providing integrated, organization-wide guidance, while linking underwriting and investment portfolios.

Responsible banking in action 

With more than 350 banks across over 85 countries, UNEP FI’s Responsible Banking community has reached significant scale and influence. Independent data confirmed that PRB banks are far more likely to be ESG leaders and benefit from lower capital costs, while delivering stronger results on key sustainability indicators.

The Banking on Sustainability series, highlighted how 10 PRB signatories are applying the Principles in practice across climate, nature, inclusive economies, and human rights. This was supported by new guidance throughout the year, including work on transition planning, nature impact target-setting, climate adaptation, decent work, and responsible policy engagement. These initiatives are aligned with the updated Responsible Banking Journey, which focuses on assessment, strategy, and action across the priority areas of climate, nature, healthy and inclusive economies, and human rights.

UNEP FI’s positive impact agenda in 2025 was a reminder that credible sustainability performance begins with impact management. This was the driving force behind the launch of the ESRS Interoperability Package to help members operationalize the strong alignment between applying the Principles for Responsible Banking and the Corporate Sustainability Directive (CSRD). The package demonstrates how PRB requirements and UNEP FI’s Holistic Impact Methodology link directly to ESRS/CSRD – emphasising impact materiality assessment.

UNEP FI also continued to strengthen its work on social and human rights by expanding practical support for banks. This included the launch of the PRB Decent Work Guidance, and the Healthy and Inclusive Economies Community of practice.

Growing the resources available to risk managers  

UNEP FI’s virtual Risk Centre unveiled its Advanced Research Programme, offering UNEP FI members deep dives into topics such as client transition plans, physical climate risk, scenarios, and modelling, to help members integrate sustainability risk indicators in risk functions. Participants can also contribute to the development of market-leading risk management tools, as well as publications on climate and credit risk, sustainability disclosure, and stress testing. A Sustainability Risk Tool Dashboard helps financial institutions navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of environmental and social risk tools. 

Helping financial institutions better understand nature 

At the UN Oceans Conference UNEP FI, in partnership with UN Global Compact, launched the Ocean Investment Protocol, which outlines how financial institutions can participate in the growth of the sustainable ocean economy.

UNEP’s first State of Finance for Forests report highlighted the financial scale and urgency of the nature transition challenge – while UNEP FI’s Guidance on Nature-related Finance and Indigenous Peoples helped reinforce inclusive, rights-based approaches. Other resources developed to help banks address impacts on nature included the Nature Impact Target Setting for Banks, and the Client Engagement on Nature: Prototype tool.

Circular economy and pollution progress 

UNEP FI’s work on circular economy took major strides in 2025, giving banks clearer pathways to accelerate climate and nature goals through more resource-efficient models. The PRB Circular Economy Workstream advanced two new sectoral guidance documents on agriculture and metals and mining, helping banks embed circular solutions into their climate action plans. Progress on pollution also accelerated in 2025. UNEP FI prepared new pollution guidance for banks on agriculture and construction, while the Finance Leadership Group on Plastics continued shaping financial sector input into the global plastics treaty negotiations. Although the latest round of talks ended without agreement, most governments signalled intent to keep moving forward in 2026. Work also advanced under the Global Framework on Chemicals, with UNEP FI helping to shape a new multistakeholder workstream on finance.

Policy in practice: supporting implementation across markets 

Amid shifting global sustainable finance policy and regulatory developments, UNEP FI provided timely resources to help members and other stakeholders navigate new standards, mitigate risks, and take advantage of opportunities. Through its regulatory implementation support programme, UNEP FI hosted 25 webinars featuring expert insights, practical guidance and case studies on topics such as the EU Omnibus Simplification Package, corporate and prudential sustainability reporting, and transition plan implementation.

As more governments recognize the potential of taxonomies for mobilizing sustainable finance, UNEP FI and partners have developed global policy resources, such as the Principles for Taxonomy Interoperability and Global Taxonomy Mapper while supporting countries and regions with their taxonomies. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), UNEP FI supported Brazil’s Sustainable Taxonomy, launched at COP30. The second phase of a Common Framework for Sustainable Taxonomies in LAC, focused on biodiversity conservation and restoration, will be published in 2026.

Highlighting member progress to policymakers at COP30 

Dozens of UNEP FI members gathered at more than 20 events, both in São Paulo ahead of COP and in Belém, Brazil during COP. This strong presence highlighted growing public-private sector collaboration, with banks, investors, and insurance leaders displaying progress on institutional changes to help deliver net-zero alignment and build climate resilience. UNEP FI reports showcasing how financial institutions are continuing to advance the transition of economies included the FIT’s A Total Balance Sheet Transition guide for insurers and the PRB’s Transition Plan Guidance for Banks. The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) delivered its sixth Progress Report, and the Net-Zero Export Credit Agencies Alliance (NZECA) published its first progress report, alongside new guidelines on GHG accounting.

UNEP FI also issued its Financing Just Transition in Latin America and Caribbean Report, providing guidance to banks and insurers in LAC on their roles in promoting a just transition.

Countries acknowledged the Baku to Belem Roadmap to USD 1.3 Trillion, a framework developed with the COP29 Presidency to increase climate finance flows to at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2035. In support of the Roadmap, UNEP FI and partners in the Transformational Finance for Climate Group, shared a new position paper which sets out priority actions and calls for coordinated public-private implementation.

Looking Ahead 

In a period of ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty, 2025 highlighted the importance of science-based decision-making, credible implementation, resilience, and transition planning. In 2026, the emphasis will be on continuing to provide evidence of the business case for sustainable finance, supporting members on sustainability risk management and value creation, translating guidance into practice and supporting financial institutions across jurisdictions. As 2026 approaches, UNEP FI will continue empowering financial institutions to take action: navigating fast-moving regulatory shifts, scaling transition pathways, strengthening resilience, driving market-level impact, and unlocking the financial and societal benefits of embedding sustainability at the heart of business operations.