Finance sector
Financial organisations can influence society, economies and the environment in the following ways.
- Through day-to-day operations such as the materials they choose to use, where they locate activities, who they choose to hire, energy used or waste produced. Some people call these an organisations direct impacts.
- Through the financial services provided, i.e. which activities they finance, how they influence the actions their customers take and the impact these services will have. These are sometimes referred to as indirect impacts.
The ‘operational’ impacts of financial organisations are often small in comparison to many other sectors. Where banks, insurers, asset managers and other financial institutions have the greatest potential to make a difference is by factoring sustainability into the products and services they deliver. For example, investment in efficient technology, green or social mortgages, lower premiums for efficient cars or reviewing the sustainable performance of activities they lend to. Leading financial organisations recognise that sustainability is not only about managing risks, but that it can also present opportunities.We have presented the process to embed sustainability within three broad areas.
Why do it & what to focus on? How to make it happen How to monitor success
More detail on each of these areas alongside quotes and case studies from participating companies can be found in the Accounting for Sustainability project report 'Embedding Sustainability in the Finance Sector'.
The Finance sector is less advanced in terms of addressing sustainability than some sectors such as oil and gas. The challenge for financial organisations is to work together to develop systems that will enable them to deliver more sustainable products and services.
Guidance, tools and useful links for the Finance sector.