I was at the City of London Green Summit which took place on 31 May - 1 June and was asked by Sir Roger Gifford (SEB) to give a few opening words on the second day. The audience was comprised of the ‘already converted’ or ‘evangelists’ as one person called them, so I was asked to challenge them (a little ?).
In summary, I had the following to say:
I did however, confirm the ACT’s support of green finance and a sustainable future, and a few days after had the opportunity to do so again at a roundtable organised by Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), an initiative set up by HRH The Prince of Wales over 12 years ago. His Royal Highness has convened various groups over the years, and this week a group of experts in debt finance were set the challenge.
Susan Davy, CFO Pennon Group, led a discussion with the support of Jessica Fries and the A4S team – asking how we can move forward on the debt capital market side, and what are the drivers for and barriers to moving the sustainability agenda forwards.
Points ranged from the need to reduce complexity, to what the rating agencies and regulators can do, to mandates around reporting and disclosure. It seems that the general public thinks green finance is solely about green bonds – which in a sense poses a threat to the real business of mainstreaming sustainability, and integrating it into all we do.
After the roundtable we were joined by others from the debt finance world for a talk with The Prince of Wales, and then we had tea in the garden of Clarence House – where our very own Jane Pilcher from Anglian Water talked about her company’s approach.
I’d love to know whether your organisation is serious about investing in sustainability, whether you have started to see a shift in the focus of banks and the debt markets in response to ESG (environmental, social and governance) risks, and what are the challenges that you are facing with that.
The ACT would like to both support our learners in getting to grips with green finance, as well as our experienced corporate treasurers who want to explore best practice and keep up with the latest news. Let me know if this is a topic which you would like to engage with further at cstockmann@treasurers.org and watch this space for more green updates!