GRI is part of the EU Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance to build a greener, more equitable economy
After adopting, in 2015, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the EU is taking a number of new initiatives to support the development, globally, of a sustainable economy.
Among these initiatives, the EU Sustainable Finance strategy is a highly important one. This strategy seeks to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into the European Union’s financial system.
Most importantly, in the context of this objective, GRI has been chosen as part of a Technical Expert Group on Sustainable Finance. The Group’s aim is to help apply an EU-wide strategy aligning financial flows with sustainability objectives. Tim Mohin, GRI’s Chief Executive, commented: “It is great to see the EU’s recent policy developments that will help us build a greener, more equitable economy. GRI is very pleased to be asked to help in this effort.”
The Group consists of 35 members from civil society, academia, and the business / finance sector, and is due to start working in July 2018.
To successfully implement the EU Sustainable Finance Plan, the Group focuses on the following policy goals:
- Creating an EU taxonomy or classification system regarding climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation and other environmental actions
- Developing the EU Green Bond Standard
- Setting up a category of “low carbon” indices for asset / portfolio managers, as a benchmark low carbon investment strategy
- Determining, with GRI’s help, metrics to improve climate-related disclosures
Eszter Vitorino, Head of Capital Market Engagement at GRI, will represent GRI in the Technical Expert Group. She said: “To establish sound metrics, it is essential to encourage strong principles as the base for climate-related disclosures. GRI’s expertise in sustainability disclosure will support a reliable methodology and ensure robust metrics Tweet This! ”
About GRI
GRI is an independent international organization that has pioneered sustainability reporting since 1997. GRI helps businesses and governments around the globe understand and communicate their impact on critical sustainability issues such as climate change, human rights, governance and social well-being. This makes possible real action to create social, environmental and economic benefits for everyone. The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, involving true multi-stakeholder engagement.
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