Eurobank affirmed its commitment to play an active role in the implementation of the United Nations Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, signing the Responsible Banking Principles that set the framework for the future development of a sustainable banking system with a strong positive mark on society and the environment.
The Principles for Responsible Banking are supported by 130 banks around the world, collectively holding USD 47 trillion in assets, and were shaped by the global banking industry through the UNEP FI (United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative). The Principles were officially launched on September 22, 2019, one day ahead of the UN Climate Action Summit in New York marking the beginning of the most significant partnership to date between the global banking industry and the UN. “The UN Principles for Responsible Banking are a guide for the global banking industry to respond to, drive and benefit from a sustainable development economy. The Principles create the accountability that can realize responsibility, and the ambition that can drive action.” said UN Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres at the launch event.
“A banking industry that plans for the risks associated with climate change and other environmental challenges can not only drive the transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies, it can benefit from it,” said Ms. Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). “When the financial system shifts its capital away from resource-hungry, brown investments to those that back nature as solution, everybody wins in the long-term.”
Eurobank’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fokion Karavias, said: “By signing the Principles for Responsible Banking, Eurobank reaffirms its commitment to contribute towards the development of the Greek economy with respect for the environment and under our firm choices to foster sustainable development and sound corporate governance. We support and will continue to actively contribute towards the global effort to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.”
The Principles for Responsible Banking provide an effective framework to identify the role and responsibilities of the global banking sector in the context of the common effort towards creating a sustainable future.
The six (6) Principles that were shaped and agreed having undergone an extensive public consultation process and were signed by 130 banks around the world are the following:
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- Alignment: We will align our business strategy to be consistent with and contribute to individuals’ needs and society’s goals, as expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement and relevant national and regional frameworks.
- Impact & Target Setting: We will continuously increase our positive impacts while reducing the negative impacts on, and managing the risks to, people and environment resulting from our activities, products and services. To this end, we will set and publish targets where we can have the most significant impacts.
- Clients & Customers: We will work responsibly with our clients and our customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable economic activities that create shared prosperity for current and future generations.
- Stakeholders: We will proactively and responsibly consult, engage and partner with relevant stakehold¬ers to achieve society’s goals.
- Governance & Culture: We will implement our commitment to these Principles through effective governance and a culture of responsible banking.
- Transparency & Accountability: We will periodically review our individual and collective implementation of these Princi¬ples and be transparent about and accountable for our positive and negative impacts and our contribution to society’s goals.
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Additional information at https://www.unepfi.org/banking/bankingprinciples/