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Preparations for UNEP FI's October Global Roundtable gathering speed
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Preparations for the UNEP FI's flagship biennial event, the Global Roundtable, gathered speed in June with a myriad of financial sector leaders and stakeholders confirming they will take the stage at the October financial sustainability summit.
"With this year's Global Roundtable line-up counting some of the biggest names in the field of sustainable finance, the GRT has really blossomed to become the global agenda-setting event in the field," said UNEP FI's head Paul Clements-Hunt.
Among the more than 50 speakers who confirmed in June that they will partake into the event are some of the most significant financial actors and thinkers of sustainable finance, including Mark Tercek, President and Chief Executive Officer for The Nature Conservancy, Weihua Ma, President of the China Merchants Bank, Rick Lacaille, Global Chief Investment Officer of State Street Global Advisors.
The Global Roundtable is a high-level conference that typically attracts a select group of 600 plus industry leaders and global thinkers for an intensive, two-day dialogue on financial sustainability and responsible investment. The 2011 edition will take place in Washington D.C. on 18-19 October.
Other speakers who confirmed their participation earlier this year include former UK Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, financial pundit and author of The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb, and Research in Motion's CEO, James Balsillie.
For more information and to register click here.
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 UNEP FI partners with regional banking association to fast-track sustainability in Latin America
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Latin America's largest banking association FELABAN joined forces with UNEP FI in late June as it unveiled a first-of-its-kind partnership that will plant the seeds for improved financial sustainability across the region. 
The agreement breaks new ground in the field of sustainable banking as the first instance of a regional banking association joining forces with a global organization dedicated to financial sustainability.
"This alliance sends a strong message, just as the Latin American region is getting ready to host the landmark Conference for Sustainable Development in 2012, that banks in the region are aware of the importance of adapting existing business models to new risks and opportunities in a world where environmental and financial stability are increasingly interconnected," said UNEP FI's head Paul Clements-Hunt.
FELABAN represents over 500 member banks in 19 countries in South and Central America.
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| UNEP FI bridges public-private divide at 2011 Bonn climate talks | |
UNEP FI brought the technical expertise and the skills of the private financial sector into the climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, in June through a series of events designed to bridge the public-private divide in current efforts to address climate change.
UNEP FI activities included a workshop on the role of private finance in the challenge of mobilising capital for climate change mitigation and adaption efforts, as well as a workshop on novel ways to build climate-resilient communities through risk-management and insurance solutions.
Government negotiators from both developing and developed countries were joined by UNEP FI experts from the investment, banking and insurance industries to discuss public-private roles and concrete actions needed in the ongoing development of the next international climate regime.
More information here.
 | | Participants attend a UNEP FI side-event at climate change talks in Bonn. |
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| UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance consultation for Latin America & the Caribbean convenes | |
The UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance consultation meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean convened industry leaders and stakeholders and laid a solid foundation to drive the sustainable insurance agenda in the region.
The pioneering event was hosted by HSBC Insurance Brazil in São Paulo, Brazil, from 16 to 17 May 2011.
"The UNEP FI Principles for Sustainable Insurance Initiative will allow all players in the insurance industry to introduce sustainability in their core business following a consistent framework," said Fernando Moreira, CEO of HSBC Insurance Brazil and Board Member for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNEP FI Insurance Commission.
Other industry leaders who attended include Paulo dos Santos, Superintendent of the Brazilian Superintendence of Private Insurance; Jorge Hilário, President of the Brazilian Insurance Association; Recaredo Arias, Secretary General of the Inter-American Federation of Insurance Companies; and Douglas Camacho, President of the Insurance Association of the Caribbean.
The finalised Principles will return to the region in June 2012 for their launch at the landmark UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
More information here.
 | | Insurers gather in São Paulo for the UNEP FI-PSI consultation. |
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| Businesses still oblivious to costs of biodiversity degradation, says report | |
Businesses operating in environmentally sensitive sectors could pay a heavy cost due to biodiversity and ecosystem services degradation, according to a new report by UNEP FI, KPMG and Fauna & Flora International.
The special edition of Sustainable Insight finds that despite mounting awareness of the risk to business from biodiversity and ecosystem degradation, environmentally sensitive sectors such as extractives, construction and finance exhibited both low awareness and risk planning for possible business impacts.
Sustainable Insight: The nature of ecosystem service risks for businesses reviews the extent to which companies are prepared to deal with biodiversity and ecosystem services degradation challenges and examine whether their response reflects the issue's magnitude.
Download the full report here.
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UNEP FI holds training sessions in Australia and Ecuador
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UNEP FI continued to push its ongoing effort to build the capacity of financial institutions across the world in June as it delivered three training workshops.
In Australia, over 50 banking practitioners from local commercial and development financial institutions attended advanced training sessions on Environmental and Social Risk Analysis in Sydney and Melbourne.
An Introductory Environmental and Social Risk training workshop also took place in Quito, Ecuador, with participants coming from 23 different banking institutions.
UNEP FI training courses present participants with case-study based exercises and insight on practical risk management tools that deepen their understanding of the impact of environmental and social issues on their business.
More information here.
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| UNEP FI to launch forest-carbon markets study with webinar, 27 July | |
UNEP FI is pleased to invite you to tune in to an online discussion with financial and government representatives on the occasion of the launch of a landmark UNEP FI report on forest-carbon market regulations.
Launched just a few months ahead of a round of international climate change negotiations in Durban, South Africa, REDDy-Set-Grow: Part II - Recommendations for international climate change negotiator aims to provide policy-makers with guidance on a climate change regime that would stimulate the mobilization of private funds.
Particular attention is given to the Reduced Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries mechanism, or REDD+, currently in the works at the UNFCCC.
REDDy-Set-Grow: Part II is the second of a series of studies on the budding forest-carbon markets.
The webinar launch is open to all. Guests are invited to attend the first session on Monday, 27 July, at 9:00 am (GMT), or the second one at 4:00 pm (GMT).
Register here. |
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| Private bank La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild joins UNEP FI | |
La Compagnie Financiere Edmond de Rothschild, one of Europe's oldest private banks, joined UNEP FI's growing list of members this June.
"Such a long lifespan is an undeniable indicator of a bank's ability to think about risk over the long-term. We are confident that the decades of experience of La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild will contribute to enrich the debate on sustainable finance among UNEP FI members," said UNEP FI's head Paul Clements-Hunt.
The French arm of the family-owned Edmond de Rothschild Group, La Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild is a major actor in private banking and asset management.
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Brazilian bank BICBANCO latest to connect with UNEP FI
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Brazil's fifth largest private capital national bank by credit operations Banco Industrial e Comercial SA (BICBANCO) is the most recent institution to connect with UNEP FI.
"Through this association with UNEP FI, we look forward to becoming part of an international network of financial institutions while engaging in information and experience sharing," said BICBANCO's Executive Vice President of Operations and Investor Relations Officer Milto Bardini.
With its foundation dating to 1938, BICBANCO is one of the oldest private sector banks in Brazil. It is spread across 33 major cities of Brazil.
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| UNEP FI members sweep prestigious FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards | |
UNEP FI members earned a series of accolades from their peers as they swept half of the ten FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards handed during a London ceremony on 16 June.
The top award destined to the banking sector - the 2011 Sustainable Bank of the Year Award - went to UNEP FI Latin American member Itau UniBanco.
Norwegian member Storebrand's sustainability work was also praised by judges, who gave the group the Sustainable Asset Owner of the Year Award. Two region-specific awards, meanwhile, went to UNEP FI African and Asian members Access Bank and YES Bank, who were each given the title of FT/IFC Sustainable Bank of the Year Award for their respective region. Swiss bank Sarasin, finally, was named as the Cross-Regional Sustainable Bank of the Year.
The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards count among the financial industry's most prestigious distinctions for environmentally and socially responsible banking and investment.
More information here.
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| Geneva Cleantech Summit to cast spotlight on green technology in July | |
 The Tech Tour Cleantech Summit, the leading biannual fundraising event for the European cleantech sector to be held in Geneva on July 6 and 7, announced a programme earlier this month that includes a keynote speech from former chief scientific advisor to the UK government, Sir David King.
Paul Clements-Hunt, head of UNEP FI, will also lead a panel discussion on European cleantech companies breaking into Asia.
More information here.
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UPCOMING TRAINING
Online Course on Environmental and Social Risk Analysis
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Spanish:
8 - 19 August
English:
8 - 26 August
The Environmental and Social Risk Analysis Online Course runs interactively over a three-week period and is intended specifically for risk managers and analysts in commercial, corporate, investment and retail banking in or dealing with developing countries and emerging markets.
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