Finance & Sustainability
The Finance sector has a critical role to play to achieve our Sustainability goals.
Overview of sustainable finance
As described by the European Commission, sustainable finance refers to the process of taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to more long-term investments in sustainable economic activities and projects...
ISSB and TCFD
In July 2023 the Financial Stability Board (FSB) announced that the work of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) has been completed, with the ISSB Standards marking the 'culmination of the work of the TCFD'. Having fulfilled its remit, TCFD disbanded in October 2023. Companies applying IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures will meet the TCFD recommendations as the recommendations are fully incorporated into the ISSB Standards.
The Little Book of Investing in Nature, by Global Canopy
The Little Book of Investing in Nature provides an essential overview of the area of biodiversity finance at a time when governments and international negotiators are urgently seeking pragmatic solutions for the twin crises of climate change and the loss of nature.
Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
A4S combines technical expertise with broad reach within the finance sector. They provide guidance and convene senior leadership to inspire action, transform decision making and scale up. A4S’s work is led by A4S network members – finance leaders who promote practical action for sustainability in their organisations.
The IFC (World Bank) Sustainable Finance support
IFC works with financial institutions to introduce environmental, social, and governance standards, as well as risk management to their lending practices. We also work to promote stability of financial systems in developing countries, and channel finance to responsible companies.
Bitcoin and carbon emissions
Do you know how energy-intensive the Bitcoin algorithm is? It demands large amounts of computational power to validate transactions. If it were a country, Bitcoin's annualised estimated carbon footprint would be similar to New Zealand's, at about 37 million tons of CO2 (note: this is not the case for all cryptocurrencies).