United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
| United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative | |
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| Abbreviation | UNEP FI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1992 |
| Type | Programme |
| Legal status | Active |
| Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
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Head
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Yuki Yasui (interim) |
| Website | www.unepfi.org |
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is a public-private partnership established between the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the financial sector. It counts over 200 members among leading banks, investment funds, and insurance companies.
UNEP FI seeks to encourage the better implementation of sustainability principles at all levels of operations in financial institutions, namely through the incorporation of environmental, social and governance factors (or ESG) in risk analyses - a concept it pioneered in the 1990s.
It is known for designing and developing the acclaimed Principles for Responsible Investment (or PRI), which has now over 900 signatories.
UNEP FI counts as one of the three conveners of the Natural Capital Declaration, a statement on the value of natural capital for the financial sector to be launched at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, alongside the Global Canopy Programme and the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
UNEP FI is also a founding member of the United Nations along with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the UN Global Compact.
UNEP FI rose from the combined forces of a small group of commercial banks and UNEP in 1991 after having identified the need to account for environmental impacts in their operations. In 1992, the UNEP Financial Institutions Initiative was created, followed by the UNEP Insurance Initiative in 1995. Both were subsequently merged to form the current partnership in 2003.
In 1994, the first Global Roundtable, a biennial event, took place in Geneva, Switzerland. Global Roundtables have since then spanned the world from Washington, DC, to Cape Town, and Rio de Janeiro to Tokyo.
In 2005, UNEP FI broke new ground with the so-called Freshfields report, which affirmed, for the first time, the rights of pension funds to factor in environmental, social and governace factors in their operations (ESG).
In 2006, UNEP FI played a crucial role in accelerating the momentum worldwide around sustainable finance by creating, together with the UN Global Compact, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is now the largest gathering of institutional investment committed to sustainable development action across the globe.
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