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Highlights for Tuesday, 21 October 2003

Delegates to the UNEP Finance Initiatives 2003 Global Roundtable met  in parallel sessions throughout the day to hear presentations, case studies and participate in panel discussions. In the afternoon, delegates convened for the closing session where Kimio Yamaguchi, Deputy Governor, Development Bank of Japan presented the Conference Statement to the plenary. Concluding addresses where given by Masashi Kaneko, Nikko Cordial Corporation, Yoshiyaki Shin, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. Ltd., Michael Hoelz, Chair, UNEP Finance Industry Initiative. Paul Clements-Hunt, Secretariat officially closed the meeting at 5:42 p.m.. Above photo: Winners of the  Royal Award for Sustainability with Carlos Joly, Paul Clements-Hunt, and Kassandra Andrews
Parallel Sessions: 

Carbon:

Kouzo Oikawa (left), Senior Executive Director of the Development Bank of Japan said climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed over the long term and that action by financial institutions are crucial.


Kunio Ishihara (right), President of Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Company highlighted the role of the non-life insurance sector in Japan and its investments in supporting environmental protection and climate mitigation measures.


Right photo L-R: Carbon panel, Thomas Streiff, Swiss Re, Dirk Reinhard, Munich Re Group, Mark Kenber, WWF, Kentaro Yabe, Mitsui & Co. Ltd.

SRI in Emerging Markets:




Lawrence Pratt (left), Associate Director of the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, presented on SRI trends and opportunities in Latin America. 




Dan Siddy (right), Head of the Sustainable Financial Market Facility of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), elaborated on a report produced by Enterprising Solutions Global for the IFC regarding the current situation of SRI in emerging markets.

Emerging Economies:

Richard Burrett (left), Managing Director, Global Head of Project Finance of ABN Ambro outlined the Equator Principles, highlighting their impact on project financing in emerging markets. He said the Principles, based on International Finance Corporation/World Bank safeguard policies and guidelines, provide an opportunity for banks to promote social and economical responsible stewardship and development.

Octavio B Peralta (right), Deputy Secretary General, Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific addressed the role of finance for poverty reduction, with an emphasis on micro-finance and small-to-medium-enterprises (SMEs).

Sustaining Biodiversity: Benefits for Communties - Business Opportunities for Financial Institutions 
Nazil Foead (left), Director of Species Programme at WWF Indonesia, noted the benefits for the financial community in investing in biodiversity.  He advocated the importance of taking local ownership into consideration in development and investment. 



Herbert Diemont (right), Coordinator of International Initiatives of Alterra Research Institute at Wageningen University, stressed the need for servicing the poor over addressing the needs of financial markets.


Soil Pollution and Environmental Risk Assessment:



Outlining the United Kingdom's legislation on contaminated lands, Chris Bray (near right), Head of Environmental Risk Management at Barclays Bank stressed the importance of screening commercial property and land offered as collateral for lending


Kaj Jenson (far right), Representative of the Environmental Bankers Association, described the process through which soil pollution and environmental risk management evolved in the US.


Blowouts, Shareholder Activism and Pension Funds: SRI in 2003


Above photo L-R: Mary-Jane Mcquillen, Barbara Krumsiek, Vincent Zeller, Takeshi Iwasaka, and Gianluca Manca

Closing Session:

Building Sustainability into Finance:




Hikaru Kobayashi, Councillor of the Minister's Secretariat at the Ministry of the Environment in Japan, introduced the Plenary Session by presenting Japan's efforts on building sustainability into finance.  He described Japan's environmental policies and plans and explained how they aim to incorporate environmental considerations into all activities of business and citizens.


Above photo L-R: Members of the closing panel, Barbara Krumsiek, Fernando Teixeira Dos Santos, Tony Juniper, Ernst Ligteringen, and Steve Gibbs

 


Closing Statements:

Kimio Yamaguchi (left), Deputy Governor of DBJ, presented the UNEP FI Tokyo Global Roundtable Conference statement, introducing it as a set of recommendations based on discussions that took place over the Roundtable.


 Masashi Kaneko (right), Chair of Nikko Cordial Corporation, urged the financial community to be aware of its large responsibility toward sustainability and renewed his resolved to this end. He highlighted the recent increase in interest in environmental issues in Japan and stressed promoting disclosure of environmentally-related activities


Yoshiaki Shin Michael Hoelz Paul Clements-Hunt

Yoshiaki Shin, Senior Managing Director and Senior Executive Officer of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, emphasized that addressing global environmental issues require global coordination and partnership. Recognizing that financial institutions are increasingly expected to do business in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, he urged the financial community to do so.

Michael Hoelz recalled key findings of the Roundtable, and stressed the importance of cultural diversity, transparency and accountability. He also presented conclusions from the Working Group meetings, underscoring the need for a deeper understanding of what corporate governance is and its relationship to sustainable development. He praised Japanese banks and insurance companies on their performance in turning around the economy, urged focusing on the Chinese markets and called on Japanese companies to initiate this effort. He called for the next Roundtable to be held in Spring 2005 in Boston, MA, US. Following the delivery of a brief message of appreciation from Klaus Toepfer, Paul Clemens-Hunt closed the 2003 UNEP FI Global Roundtable at 5:42 pm.

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