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April 01, 2009
Leading Sustainable Finance Organizations Call on G-20 to Adopt ESG Considerations
by Robert Kropp
Six organizations provide recommendations for a sustainable economic recovery and implementation of
environmental, social, and governance factors in financial regulations.
SocialFunds.com --
Six umbrella organizations for the global sustainable and responsible finance industry have called
on world leaders attending the Group of Twenty (G-20) summit in London to seize the current
economic crisis as an opportunity for transitioning to a low-carbon, resource efficient, and
socially sustainable global economy.
The G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank
Governors, established in 1999, brings together representatives of industrialized and developing
economies to discuss key issues in the global economy. The priority of the current meeting is to
gain further agreements for a concerted, coordinated international response to the global economic
crisis.
Arguing in their statement that insufficient recognition persists of the
fundamental role played by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the creation of a
sustainable recovery, the organizations set out recommendations that they contend would help create
a sustainable economic recovery and a more responsible, transparent, and accountable economy of the
future.
In order to encourage a short-term economic stimulus, the organizations recommend
support for infrastructure for carbon reduction and energy efficiency, clean technologies and
renewable energy, carbon reduction programs, financial infrastructure for underserved markets, and
implementation of the Millennium Development
Goals.
The Millennium Development Goals are eight macro-level targets agreed upon by
more than 190 UN member countries to improve people's lives in a sustainable manner.
To
ensure long-term financial regulation, the organizations recommend mandatory disclosure by
corporations of ESG factors, greater accountability on the part of corporations to long-term
responsible shareowners, measures to encourage consideration of ESG issues in the selection and
recommendation of investments, and mandatory inclusion of ESG issues in financial advice and sales
of financial products.
The six signatories of the statement are:
Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment
in Asia (ASrIA)
European Sustainable
Investment Forum (Eurosif)
Responsible Investment Association Australasia
(RIAA)
Social Investment Forum
Social Investment Organization
(SIO)
UK Sustainable Investment and Finance
(UKSIF)
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SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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