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ICBC Actively Participates in Development of International Standards for Green Finance
 

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was selected as a member of the core group of United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) in developing a set of “Principles for Sustainable Global Banking”. ICBC, as the only Chinese bank in the core group, will be deeply involved in the drafting of the Principles. While promoting China’s successful experience in green finance, ICBC will actively participate in the development of international standards for green finance and make contribution to the global sustainable development.

As introduced, the core group, comprising of 26 banks from 19 countries spanning five continents, will formulate a set of principles, framework and guidelines for the sustainable development of global banking, based on extensive discussion with public organizations, governments, and regulators. The core group will issue the draft Principles during the UNEP FI Global Round Table 2018 in Paris on November 26, and the official version will be announced in 2019 after a period of suggestion solicitation worldwide. By then, the Principles, along with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), will become an important benchmark for guiding the global financial industry to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. ICBC has sent delegates to participate in several rounds of preparatory meetings of the core group. On behalf of the Chinese banking industry, they have presented China’s practical experience in green sustainable development and received wide praise from other member banks.

An official from ICBC said that ICBC joined the UNEP FI as early as in 2015, and was the first Chinese commercial bank to join the UN Global Compact. Through adopting and following the international standards, ICBC helped customers effectively manage environmental and social risks in overseas investment and contributed to China's sustainable economic development and the building of the green Belt and Road. In the international arena, ICBC actively promotes the green concept. In 2016, ICBC, as a co-Chairman of B20 Financing Growth Task Force, raised the topic of green finance on behalf of the business community, which was included for the first time in the B20 core issues. ICBC also joined the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the first Chinese financial institution in the group. At the same time, ICBC also actively pushed forward the research in the field of green finance and released the first ESG Green Financial Rating and Green Index Research Report in China’s banking industry, which was well-received by global investors.


(2018-07-02)
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