Partnership between United Nations Environment and the global financial sector to promote sustainable finance
8 July 2021
The UNEP FI Regional Roundtable for Africa and Middle East was held virtually on 22 and 23 June 2021, and welcomed 400+ participants and 30+ speakers to help define the role of banking, insurance and investment in shaping ambitious responsible strategies to proactively address the challenges and opportunities of a green recovery, whilst transitioning to…
20 January 2021
A new report provides the first in-depth analysis of sustainable finance practices in a part of the world most vulnerable to the effects of climate change: the Arab region. Issues such as water scarcity, rising sea levels, drought, land degradation and desertification will have serious repercussions for food, energy and water security in this area. Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals – in particular those that help deal with the interlinked water-energy-food challenges – will be key to build resilient, fairer economies.
27 February 2020
Financial institutions based in the Middle East and North Africa can now find the tools and insight to transform the region’s financial system to one that addresses the funding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The knowledge platform: “Financing the climate transition in the MENA” is a key deliverable of a new programme, the SDG…
Our sustainable finance tools and training services are part of our effort to fulfil the mission of UNEP FI to “identify, promote, and realise the adoption of best environmental and sustainability practice at all levels of financial institution operations”. These services aim to raise awareness and to build capacity in sustainable finance amongst UNEP FI…
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…
20 June 2018
The AAIB joined UNEP FI in April this year becoming the second member from Egypt to join our global sustainable finance network. For many years, the bank has been active in embedding sustainability practices in their business and in the industry. Hassan Abdalla, CEO of AAIB said in a statement that “The UNEP FI is bound…
18 June 2018
Part of UNEP FI’s work in ecosystems management includes creating investable models for investors, as well as providing knowledge, and imparting insight for private finance to contribute to sustainable land use projects. Côte d’Ivoire has the fastest rate of deforestation in the world, much of which is caused by the cultivation of cocoa, a commodity that is a big contributor to the economy. Thomas Yapo, UNEP FI’s Economics and Finance Consultant for Africa writes about…
5 April 2018
In line with one of the proposed Ghana Banking principles of promoting customers to integrate Environmental Social Governance (ESG) in their business, UNEP FI through colleagues at the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE) is undertaking a study to assess the level of integration of sustainability in the business sector’s operations, value chains and…
12 September 2017
UNEP FI is pleased to welcome the 23rd financial institution to join the Positive Impact Initiative. Tawreeq Holdings Limited, with subsidiaries in the UAE and Luxembourg, specializes in comprehensive Supply Chain Finance (SCF) solutions for Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) and their corporate clients across the MENA region. These solutions are made available through…
UNEP FI and Casablanca Finance City are pleased to anounce the regional launch of the Positive Impact initiative and the Principles for Positive Impact Finance, held in Casablanca on July 6th 2017.
3 March 2017
UNEP FI and Ecobanking Project partnered with the International Trade Centre (ITC), the African Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises (AGF) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) to deliver a series of Environmental and Social Risk Analysis (ESRA) training sessions designed for financial institutions in Zambia. The training sessions – which focus on environmental and…
27 January 2017
The Jordan Ahli Bank joined UNEP FI in January, thus becoming the first bank in Jordan to be a part of the initiative and the second to join from the country. Recognising its environmental and social responsibility, Ahli Bank has incorporated management policies that resonate with environmental standards and has been a pioneer in making…
27 January 2017
In early January, Tawreeq Holdings, a UAE and Luxembourg based group, endorsed and became a signatory of the UNEP Statement of Commitment by Financial Institutions on Sustainable Development. Specializing in comprehensive Supply Chain Finance (SCF) solutions targeting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their corporate clients across the MENA region, Tawreeq Holdings as the first UAE…
5 January 2017
On 16 October 2016, the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) joined UNEP FI as a Supporting Institution, becoming the second Banking Association in the region to join under this status. The Association, which is an umbrella to 25 Banks in Jordan, seeks to advance the banking business in the country and plays an active…
30 November 2016
A Tale of Two Cities: Progress and Challenges on the Road from Paris to Marrakech In his second blog on COP 22, the climate conference that took place in Marrakech from 4 -16 November 2016, UNEP FI Climate Change Officer, Remco Fischer asks what was accomplished in Morocco, and summarises UNEP FI’s contribution. In the…
14 November 2016
The Good, The Bad, and the Unknown UNEP FI round-up: developments and outcomes from the first week of the 2016 intergovernmental climate conference in Marrakech, Morocco (COP22) by Remco Fischer, Climate Change Programme Officer. The good Last year’s climate meeting in Paris, COP 21, has been widely praised as historic for two reasons: it was…
27 October 2016
25-27 October, 2016 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates Over the years the GRT has become the key global agenda-setting event on sustainable finance, bringing together hundreds of leaders from all parts of the financial system as well as from civil society, academia, government and the United Nations. The 14th edition of the GRT built on…
21 October 2016
Commercial International Bank-Egypt (CIB) recently became a member of UN Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative, the first Egyptian bank to do so. They will also take part in the Global Roundtable in Dubai later this month. Mr. Hisham Ezz Al-Arab, Chairman and Managing Director, said, “Being the first bank in Egypt to join UNEP FI evidences…
28 May 2016
On 27 May 2016, the Banking Association South Africa (BASA) signed an agreement to join UNEP FI as a supporting partner becoming the first Banking Industry Association in Africa and third globally, to achieve a Supporting Institution Status. This partnership comes in celebration of 15 years of collaboration between UNEP FI and BASA, a collaboration dating…
14 May 2016
On 12 May 2016, the Union of Arab Banks became the second institution globally and first regionally to join UNEP FI under the Supporting Institution Status. Following the formalization of the partnership agreement under the Supporting Institutions, UNEP FI partnered with the UAB for the 2016 International Arab Banking Summit that took place in Rome…