Eric Usher
Head, UNEP Finance Initiative
Eric Usher Heads the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, UNEP FI, a global partnership bringing together the UN with a global group of banks, insurers and investors working to develop the sustainable finance and responsible investment agendas. Eric oversees governance, strategy and day-to-day management of UNEP FI’s work programme and global network development. Over the years UNEP FI has established some of the most important sustainability oriented frameworks within the finance industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2012) and the Principles for Responsible Banking (2019).
Since joining in 2015, Mr. Usher has focused on accelerating the deep integration of sustainability risks into financial practice, including addressing climate change, natural capital loss and human rights abuses, as well as building out the frameworks for positive impact finance needed to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Eric sits on several industry bodies including as UN representative on the Board of the Principles for Responsible Investment, and as a member of the governing boards of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative, the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance, the Investor Agenda and the impact fund REPP Africa.
Prior to leading UNEP FI, Mr. Usher has over twenty years of experience in the low carbon sectors, spanning technology commercialisation in Canada, solar rural electrification in Morocco and financial sector development across emerging markets. During 2011, Mr. Usher worked on the establishment of the Green Climate Fund and led efforts to create its Private Sector Facility. Eric has been an editor of the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment report published annually with Bloomberg and was lead author for finance of the IPCC Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources. Earlier in his career, Eric was General Manager of a solar rural electrification company based in Morocco.
| Programme Operations Manager | Yuki Yasui |
| Administration | Justus Mutiga Ken Maguire Lydia Beaujois Oyejumoke Oyekole Wenmin Li Esther Kapia Julie Ochollo |
| Communications | Sally Wootton (General media enquiries, insurance, investment climate change-related media enquiries) Mustafa Chaudhry (Media enquiries for positive impact initiative) Oliver Wagg (Media enquiries Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance) Cara Wilson (Media enquiries, banking and nature) Richard Hansen Rob Wilson Laura Essaidi Arielle Wat Alexandra Sternin Ella Diarra |
| Industry Committees | |
| Banking | Simone Dettling (Maternity Leave) Puleng Ndjwili-Potele Johanna Dichtl Oualid Rokneddine Alice Anders Rachael Mpashi-Marx Karine Bueno Ruediger Senft |
| Investment | Jesica Andrews Elodie Feller (on secondment) Laxmi Kumar Matthew Ulterino |
| Insurance | Butch Bacani Diana Diaz |
| Thematic Work | |
| Climate Change | Remco Fischer Jesica Andrews David Carlin Sarah Kemmitt Paul Smith Rahnuma Chowdhury Carolin Gresch Hina Majid Maheen Arshad Owen Riddall Eliya Devay Oliver Wagg (Communications) |
| Energy Efficiency | Remco Fischer |
| Ecosystems Management and Sustainable Land Use | Jessica Smith Dennis Fritsch Jonathan Gheyssens Lara Yacob Romie Gedicke (TNFD) Karla Martínez Toral |
| SDGs and Impact | Careen Abb Costanza Ghera |
| Regional Activities | |
| Membership Manager | Liesel van Ast |
| Africa & Middle East | Nuran Atef (MENA) Reuben Muhindi Wambui (Africa) |
| Asia-Pacific | Yuki Yasui Dae-Woong Lim (Republic of Korea) Kaori Nomura (Japan) Peiyuan Guo (China) |
| Europe | Daniel Bouzas Luis Corinne Raux |
| Latin America | Maria Sosa Taborda Carolina Lopez (Chile) |
| North America | Layalee Ramahi |
| Training | Carolina Lopez Yushan Zhang |