Get Ready: The 2013 Global Roundtable will be held the 12-13 November in Beijing, China

The theme of the 2013 GRT will be "Financing the Future We Want: China, Emerging Markets and the World Economy"

Held in the wake of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), and amidst multiple efforts to mobilize and scale up green finance, the 2013 Roundtable will further be marked by a context of deepening shifts in the global balance of political, economical and financial power.

As such, the event will seek to raise the level and profile of the sustainable finance agenda, and to bring to the forefront the richness and diversity of approaches and nuances that now characterize the agenda, from China to other emerging economies and across the global economy.

In this context and following its 20th birthday, UNEP FI will, on the occasion of the 2013 Global Roundtable, launch the very first report on the status of sustainable finance, to be delivered thereafter on a regular basis as a new flagship product. 

Please check out www.unepfi.org/grt 

The Turkish Banks Association, in partnership with UNEP FI, organized a half-day event in Istanbul to expose more than 70 mid-level to senior managers in Turkish banks to the value of incorporating sustainability in the business operations and culture of their banks. International development finance institutions and peer finance institutions argued for the adoption of responsible finance business models, using as examples their own policies, procedures and lessons learned from their own sustainability journey. The event aimed to enlarge the pool of Turkish banks sensitive to sustainable development issues and active in this field.  

More information here (in Turkish).

UNEP FI at the European Commission Resource Efficiency Finance Round Table, Brussels, Belgium 

UNEP FI and several signatories participated in the European Commission Resource Efficiency Finance Round Table, held on the 15th February in Brussels. The Round Table gathered high-level experts from the finance sector to discuss existing barriers to financing resource efficiency, explore possibilities for adapted finance and innovative financial instruments and make recommendations on how finance can facilitate a more efficient use of the Earth's limited resources. 

Resource efficiency is one of the flagship initiatives of the EU's Europe 2020 structural economic strategy for growth and jobs. 

More information here.

A carefully targeted group of risk managers, credit officers and analysts have successfully completed the first two-day introductory training workshop held in Muscat, Oman on 15th and 16th of January. The workshop was hosted by UNEP FI's local member BankMuscat under the auspices of H.E Sheikh Mohammed bin Said Al Kalbani.

During the two days, participants were taught about practical mechanisms and tools for implementing Environmental and Social Risk Management, case-study based exercises and activities, as well as peer-to-peer experience sharing from banking practitioners from HSBC Middle East and Bank Muscat.

More information here.

The course is a product of UNEP FI and the INCAE Business School through the Ecobanking Project and GIZ.

Since 2005, more than 2,000 professionals from the financial sector across all over the world have been trained in the "Environmental and Social Risk Analysis (ESRA)" Training Programme. The course is designed to educate risk managers and analysts in commercial, corporate, investment and retail banking in or dealing with developing countries and emerging markets in the identification, analysis and management of environmental and social risks generated through their lending and investment activities. 

Upcoming Courses in 2013: 

More information here.

In the event that you are interested in taking the course, we strongly advise you to fill in the online registration form as places are limited.

Annual Investment Meeting, 30 April - 2 May 2013, Dubai, UAE

UNEP FI's recently elected Co-Chair David Pitt-Watson will be involved for the first time in the 3rd edition of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), a global emerging market-led conference and investment trade fair to be held from 30 April to 2 May 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

Due to the overwhelming demand, the Frankfurt School - UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance will open the door's of Sustainable Energy Finance Summer Academy to welcome more participants than in previous years. The training will take place from 14 - 19 July, 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany and is based on a completely new concept, which promises classes tailored to the participants' experience level, superior networking opportunities and specialised training to build their core competence. 

More information here.

Guidelines for Financial Services in the Energy Sector, Paris, France 

The Study Center for Corporate Social Responsibility in France (Observatoire sur la Responsabilité Sociale des Entreprises - ORSE) launched its new Guidelines for financial services in the energy sector. The white paper aims to collect best practices available on the market and to serve as a basis for financial institutions to design their own sector's policies. It can also be used to encourage clients to shape a carbon intensity reduction strategy. 

More information here.

Creating the New 'Normal'

A discussion paper seeking to inform the development of a global strategy on the financing of sustainable development in the wake of Rio+20 

Responsible Property Investment - What the leaders are doing

A collection of case studies of leading property investors applying RPI principles within their decision-making