The impact of the financial services sector on society and the environment derives from the capital it employs – from financing infrastructure projects in developing nations to providing low-interest loans to small businesses – with effects that can change the risk profiles of borrowers and lenders.
Issues
- Brand/reputation management
- Environmental/social impacts of project financing (for example, the “Equator Principles”)
- Accessibility to services for under-served markets
- Environmental/social risk management in lending (due diligence)
- Climate change (impact on borrowers, insurers, financial markets)
- Socially responsible investment, lending and marketing
- Compliance with regulatory requirements (for example, anti-money-laundering)
- Environmental footprint of facilities (energy, materials, water)
Client examples
Leading UK alternative investment manager
We helped the company develop a long-term programme for ensuring responsible business. We are providing assistance at all stages in the development of a comprehensive response to corporate responsibility, including a strategic review to assess stakeholder expectations and risks to the business, development and implementation of a management system, and establishment of governance structures, delivery frameworks, tools and training requirements.
International financial institution
We have delivered environmental risk-management training to 80 .nancial intermediaries across Eastern European and Central Asia, working directly with banks, investment funds and insurance companies to analyse the environmental risks and to consider these risks in their investment and lending policies. The project also provides training in the ways in which the financial intermediaries can encourage their clients to improve environmental performance.
UK-based fund manager group
We worked with a group of UK-based fund managers to develop guidelines that articulate the expectations of fund managers for companies. These guidelines, subsequently adopted and launched by the Association of British Insurers, help companies to address the concerns and requirements of their shareholders in relation to social, environmental and ethical matters. We have also advised the group on its stakeholder-engagement programme.
Sustainability/CSR Index groups
We acted as the assurance providers to the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index and are actively contributing to the development of the FTSE4Good Index. We were commissioned by Business in the Community (BITC) to conduct an independent evaluation of the CSR marketplace to help ground and inform development of a CSR Index, along the lines of the Business in the Environment (BiE) Index. This project assessed different approaches to CSR rating, risks and opportunities in bringing a new index to the market and outlined the strategic options for the BITC Index in terms of differentiation and/or collaboration.
