Bankers Meet at Columbia
University to Link Environament and Financial
Performance
NEW YORK, 16 May 1997 -- Some 350
leading bankers and financial experts from
around the world will meet here on 22 and
23 May (next Thursday and Friday), on the
campus of Columbia University, to consider
and try to agree on new strategies for investments
and loans for environmental initiatives.
The Third UNEP Round-table Meeting on Finance
and the Environment will explore the challenges
the financial services sector faces in translating
corporate environmental information into financially
relevant terms for use by financial analysts.
Participants represent a wide range of financial
institutions: investment banks such as Salomon
Inc and Smith Barney, commercial banks including
Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada,
as well as Europe-based banks such as NatWest,
HSBC Holdings Plc, Swiss Bank Corporation
and UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland).
"The financial services industry has
come a long way since we launched this initiative
five years ago. The private sector is now
ready to pursue and grasp environmental opportunities
in investment and lending practices",
says Ms. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director
of the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), which is co-hosting the meeting with
Columbia University. "The incorporation
of environmental facts and figures into investment
is key to sustainable development."
Since its launch in 1992 UNEP's Statement
by Banks on the Environment and Sustainable
Development has been signed by 93 banks from
33 countries. At a signing ceremony and reception
on Thursday evening, 22 May, a number of banks,
including Econatsbanks of Russia, will sign
the Statement, probably raising the total
to 100 signatories. (The reception will be
at the National Design Museum, 2 East 91st
Street, NYC.)
"The meeting reflects a growing awareness
within our industry that the environment is
a strategic business issue to many of the
industries we're involved with", says
Linda Descano, Vice- President of Environmental
Affairs, Salomon Inc. and a member of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental
Financial Advisory Board. "A better understanding
of those issues and their influence on corporate
performance, profitability and growth is fundamental
to our delivery of high quality advisory services
in transactions or acquisitions."
In a discussion of "Environmental Opportunities
and Issues in Private Finance", the meeting
will look at three industries which are currently
receiving considerable attention from both
the financial and environmental communities
because of the scale of the investment opportunities
and the environmental implications: energy,
water and forestry. Representatives from the
three sectors with experience in financing
arrangements will describe how environmental
factors influenced deals -- positively and
negatively.
Historically, the financial community has
focused on environmental risks in lending,
but over the past 12-18 months there has been
significant attention paid as well to the
areas of investment and insurance services.
Another interesting item on the agenda is
"Environmental Disclosures and Reporting".
In respect to the status of environmental
accounting and disclosure requirements, it
appears that standards are being developed
in Europe, and particularly the United Kingdom,
while in the United States a banker would
be hard pressed to find anyone to speak with
at the SEC (US Securities Exchange Commission)
to discuss the matter. Perspectives from three
parts of the world -- Europe, North America
and Australia -- will be considered from a
legal and regulatory point of view, that is
to say, where things are and where they are
going.
"We will only gain public confidence
when we can show what we have achieved",
says Otti Bisang, head of Environmental Management
Services at Credit Suisse. "We are convinced
that our ISO 14000 certification is just an
external confirmation that we are doing the
right things in the right way. This meeting
offers a good opportunity to share best practice
and develop common language in moving forward."
At a session devoted to "Opportunities
for Green Investment", the point will
be made that the global market for investment
in the environment continues to grow at an
impressive rate. Immense opportunities exist
for proactive financiers. It is estimated
that by the year 2000 the market for pollution
control will be $300 to $600 billion, rivalling
the pharmaceuticals industry. Among the areas
for environmental lending and investment are
eco- tourism, clean technologies and protected
areas.
Hardly a week passes without a major "natural"
disaster, the most recent being the 10 May
earthquake in Iran. This puts the insurance
industry on the front line. So, one session
will explore how the insurance companies are
responding to windstorms, floods, droughts
and fires which have set the industry back
more than $200 billion since the mid-1970s.
The insurance industry represents a significant
part of the world's capital base for investments
and risk management. In fact, the sector of
the financial services industry most affected
by environmental issues is probably property
and casualty insurance.
It is worth noting that UNEP's Statement
of Environmental Commitment for the Insurance
Industry was launched in 1995 and has since
been signed by 67 insurance companies in 23
countries. SOREMA of Canada will add its name
to the list at the meeting.
The meeting will also address such hot topics
as innovative policy initiatives for various
industry sectors, the World Bank Guidelines,
the ISO 14001 Standard, Brazil's Green Protocol
Program, and challenges in relating environmental
performance to financial performance.
Speakers will come from a broad spectrum
of institutions, such as The World Bank Group,
CalPERS, the NY Pension Fund, and non- governmental
organizations such as the US National Wildlife
Federation, and large industrial firms, among
them Sony and British Petroleum.
Note to journalists: A press conference
will be held at Columbia University, International
Affairs Building, 420 West 118th Street, on
Thursday, 22 May, at 12:45 p.m. Journalists
are also welcome that evening at the signing
ceremony/reception at the National Design
Museum (see above).
For more information, please contact:
Hussein Abaza, Chief, or Deborah Vorhies,
UNEP Economics, Trade and Environment Unit,
Geneva, tel: 41-22-979-9288, fax: 41-22-796-9240,
e-mail: vorhiesd@unep.ch;
OR Jim Sniffen, UNEP Information Officer,
New York, tel: 1-212-963-8210/8094, fax: 1-212-963-7341,
e-mail: sniffenj@un.org
