Resources
Sustainable banking
● Equator principles: The three-year-old code has had a dramatic impact on bank lending but is not without its critics
● The shortlist: A list of the contenders for the FT 2006 Sustainable Banking Awards
● Activist Investors: Banks are in the sights of investors with a social cause
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Content
Lenders see profit in responsibility
Banks are showing increasing commitment, says Fiona Harvey.
Equator principles: Radical plan is not without critics
The banks’ code is criticised as lacking transparency and accountability, says Demetri Sevastopulo.
Equator principles: Revisions raise social hurdles
Banks that sign up to the new and tighter guidelines will be gaining flexibility, says Demetri Sevastopulo.
Uruguay: Mills act as test case
Fray Bentos provides an unexpected setting for an international controversy over the future of sustainable banking. Once famous for its meat products, the sleepy Uruguayan town has been in steady decline ever since its eponymous meat factory closed its doors nearly three decades ago.
FT 2006 Sustainable Bank of the Year
The awards, launched in association with the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, drew a total of 90 entries from 48 institutions in 28 countries. On May 8, the panel of judges met to select the nominees. Today, the final winners will be decided at a second meeting in London.
Ethical consumers: Retailers see through green filter
Supermarkets and clothes chains alike have realised that shoppers view the ethics of sustainability and ecological responsibility as core to their buying decisions, writes Elizabeth Rigby.
Rewards for banks: Ethics give bottom-line a boost
The benefits are numerous enough to be measured, says Mike Scott.
Ask the experts: A question of avoiding greenwash
Rachel Kyte, director of the IFC’s environment and social development department, and Leo Johnson, co-founder of consultants Sustainable Finance, took part in a live sustainable banking Q&A session on the FT’s website.
Environment: Carbon neutrality begins at home
Banks and all other companies should first examine themselves to ensure they are not harming the environment, says Fiona Harvey.
Social sustainability: Critics zero in on banks’ ethics
No one formula will cover all the social and ethics issues that must be faced, says Alison Maitland.
