Partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector to promote sustainable finance
15 April 2019
The agricultural sector is one of the sectors most exposed to environmental risk caused by climate change and human degradation of ecosystems. A new template that enables financial institutions to conduct natural capital credit risk assessment across different agricultural sectors and geographies, taking into account factors such as water availability, use and quality; soil health; […]
11 April 2019
UNEP FI’s first Regional Roundtable on Sustainable Finance for 2019 took place in Cairo this week with more than 220 delegates and speakers. We opened with a first, holding an event that brought together insurers from all over MENA – the Principles for Sustainable Insurance Market Event for Egypt. Hosted by the Financial Regulatory Authority […]
2 April 2019
Geneva – UNEP FI’s Positive Impact Initiative (PI) is announcing the launch of two new Working Groups, where UNEP FI members, members of sister organizations and external stakeholders are working together to develop and test tools for holistic impact analysis: Impact Frameworks for corporate finance and investments with unspecified use of funds: corporate financing is an essential but […]
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and GIZ hosted a UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking Consultation Workshop in Hanoi, Vietnam. The workshop was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Kim Anh, Deputy Governor of the SBV. Over 60 participants including representatives from 17 financial institutions attended. During the workshop, SBV also presented the results from the […]
7 March 2019
The EU has taken an important step forward on advancing sustainable finance. On Thursday 7 March 2019, the EU Parliament and Council achieved political agreement on requiring ESG integration by financial market participants. Clarifying the fiduciary duties of investors has been a priority for UNEP FI for many years. These rules are an essential part […]
27 February 2019
Today, UN Environment, Oceana and leading insurers issued a checklist of warning signs for pirate fishing activity, as part of a global insurance industry effort to curb illegal fishing. The risk assessment guidelines, launched at an international conference organised by UN Environment’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative (PSI) and the global insurer Allianz, were developed […]
27 February 2019
The first ever guidance designed for the global insurance industry to integrate sustainability into industrial and commercial business has launched for public consultation today. The result of a multi-year initiative co-led by UNEP FI’s Principles for Sustainable Insurance and leading insurer, Allianz, the guide is designed to manage environmental, social and governance risks in insurance […]
21 February 2019
A legal framework for the consideration of sustainability impact in investor decision-making Within the next decade, assessing and accounting for the sustainability impact of investment decision-making needs to be a core part of investment activity. In other words, consideration of how the investment decision affects sustainability issues, not just how sustainability issues affect the investment […]
19 February 2019
When Madeleine Ronquest attended the Johannesburg launch of an innovative guide designed to help banks assess their exposure to environmental degradation, a quick look around the room proved it was no longer business as usual in the financial sector. “When I started out there weren’t any environmental or sustainability people in the banks, and (at the launch) […]
19 February 2019
Today 12 more banks are endorsing the UNEP Finance Initiative’s Principles for Responsible Banking, bringing the total number of banks supporting the new framework to 49. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Itaú Unibanco, CaixaBank, Wema Bank, Banco Galicia, BCC Grupo Cooperativo Cajamar, Banco De Fomento Agropecuario, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Spare Bank, Arion Bank, ALEXBANK, and […]
12 February 2019
The International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) has opened a public consultation on Supervisory Guidelines on the integration of ESG factors in the investment and risk management of pension funds. The consultation is open for feedback until 11 March 2019. IOPS is an independent international standard-setting body representing those involved in the supervision of private pension arrangements. […]
12 February 2019
The UNEP FI Property Working Group, in collaboration with RICS, PRI, and members of the Global Investor Coalition on Climate Change, have produced a practical, action-oriented framework to accelerate a new financing paradigm for the delivery of the global SDGs. The 25 leading institutional investors and asset managers of the UNEP FI Property Working Group […]
16 January 2019
A week before the World Economic Forum in Davos, where global financial leaders will discuss society’s most pressing issues, the Natural Capital Finance Alliance (NCFA) has launched the world’s first step-by-step guide to help financial institutions conduct a rapid natural capital risk assessment. The Natural Capital Finance Alliance engaged with PwC to produce the guide. […]
21 December 2018
The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG), jointly convened by the European Commission and UNEP FI, has launched a call for expressions of interest for the first working group it is setting up in its third phase: the working group on the input on energy efficiency to the emerging EU sustainable finance taxonomy and on […]
18 December 2018
Standard Chartered PLC, KBC Group, KB Financial Group, DGB Financial Group, Natixis, GLS Bank, Landsbankinn, Zenith Bank and Keystone Bank among first Endorsers of the Principles for Responsible Banking Standard Chartered PLC, KBC Group, KB Financial Group, DGB Financial Group, Natixis, GLS Bank, Landsbankinn hf., Zenith Bank and Keystone Bank become the first banks beyond […]
18 December 2018
On Saturday, following two weeks marked by dramatic rhetoric and intense negotiations over legal language, close to 200 Governments bridged a deep global divide and agreed on the set of rules meant to steer countries worldwide in implementing the historic 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. UNEP FI’s Climate Lead, Remco Fischer gives more […]
13 December 2018
Read UNEP FI Head Eric Usher in the 2018 Report of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development writing about ‘Mobilizing Finance to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals: UNEP Finance Initiative’s Perspective’. Download the report here.
10 December 2018
Global investors today called on governments around the world to step up action to address climate change. 415 investors, with $32 trillion in assets-under-management, are behind the call-to-action as signatories of the 2018 Global Investor Statement to Governments on Climate Change. The ‘Global Investor Statement’ reaches global leaders as the United Nation’s COP24 global […]
29 November 2018
The 4th edition of the Climate Finance Day, part of 3 days to scale up sustainable finance in Paris 26-28 November, brought positive news: climate finance flows exceeded 500 billion euros in 2017, the main European banks and insurers have shown their commitment to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, we need to […]
28 November 2018
The crowd numbered 650 on the second day of UNEP FI’s Global Roundtable 2018 in Paris, one of the world’s largest gatherings of banks, insurers and investors that are working to put the Sustainable Development Goals at the heart of their business strategy. Delegates discussed the ongoing issues that keep sustainable finance professionals busy, […]