We welcome the creation of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative, which includes BCSD Australia member organisations IAG, National Australia Bank, Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), QBE Insurance and Australian Ethical Investment. The Chair of BCSD Australia, Dr John Hewson, is part of the steering committee for the Initiative.
The Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative is an unprecedented collaboration to help shape an Australian economy that prioritises human wellbeing, social equity and environmental protection, while underpinning financial system stability, in what it says is a ‘critical decade’ ahead. Modelled on international best practice already seen in groups including the European Union’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance and the UK’s Green Finance Taskforce, the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative will be guided by a Steering Committee charged with developing a set of recommendations to enable the finance sector to contribute more systematically to the transition to a more resilient and sustainable economy.
A priority of the Initiative will be to create a Sustainable Finance Roadmap to better enable the financial services sector to contribute to delivering on international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while underpinning economic stability and prosperity for Australia.
IAG Group Executive Jacki Johnson, co-Chair of the Initiative, said: “The roadmap we create will include pathways, policy signals and frameworks that will better enable the financial services sector to contribute to delivering on international commitments, such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, while underpinning economic stability and prosperity for Australia.”
