Standard Bank is a South African-based financial services group with a global presence focused on emerging markets. It operates in 30 countries around the world, including 17 in Africa. The bank was formed in 1962 as a South African subsidiary of the British overseas bank Standard Bank, under the name Standard Bank of South Africa.
The CDP impels organisations to record their carbon footprint in daily activities. Encouraging enterprises to calculate and disclose their carbon impact, this initiative highlights the challenge for financial institutions to determine exactly how much carbon output can be attributed to financing.
Voluntary framework to guide the finance sector in tackling the challenge of climate change. They address the management of operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and provide direction on managing climate change in research activities; asset management; retail banking; insurance & re-insurance; corporate banking; investment banking & markets; project finance.
The EPs are a set of guidelines, based upon the Performance Standards and guidelines from the IFC, the World Bank's private sector lending arm for private banks to asesses and mitigate risks in project finance. Banks use the Principles to guide internal operating procedures for transaction for specific projects. Although the EPs are an important step to raise overall standards of financiers and projects in the developing world, they currently fall short on transparency and governance requirements.
The verification and full publication of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining is supported by the EITI. Financial institutions can participate and encourage resource-rich countries to support the initiative that aims to defeat poverty, corruption and conflict caused by weak transparency and accountability.
As the name suggests, the GRI aims to standardise good practice in transparency. GRI provides companies with guidelines to organise their annual report with reporting indices and standards addressing environmental, social and economic issues that business ought to address when telling the world about its performance.
The UN Global Compact is a set of ten principles that companies may sign voluntarily. Signatories promise to avoid complicity in human rights violations, adhere to labour standards, protect the environment and avoid corruption. The G8 countries urge companies to participate in this initiative, and with over 2900 companies signing up, the Global Compact has momentum. A voluntary and network based framework, the Global Compact actively promotes peer review and stakeholder participation.
UNEP is the 'voice of the environment' for the United Nations system, promoting international cooperation in the field of the environment. Issues concerning the financial community are addressed by the UNEP Finance Initiative which promotes investment in clean and renewable energy by financial institutions and other investors. Financial insititutions wishing to join must sign one of two Statements (for financial institutions and a separate one for the insurance industry).
UNPRI is a set of six principles direct institutional investors may adopt to consider environmental, social and corporate governance issues when investing. Voluntary and aspirational in nature, UNPRI has since its inception in 2006 attracted 200 signatories, representing US$8 trillion worth of investments.
Since the turn of the century a group of twelve banks known as the Wolfsberg Group have collaborated to improve ethical standards. The principles provide guidance on money laundering, corruption and the financing of terrorism. They have been produced to address deficiencies in areas 'yet to be fully articulated by lawmakers or regulators'.
The Kusile coal fired power plant project is located in the province of Mpumalanga, in South Africa. With 4800MW, it will be one of the largest power plants of its kind in…
The Rapu Rapu Polymetallic Project on Rapu Rapu island in the South East of the Philippines is a open pit mine with a estimated annual production of approximately 11,000…
Toka Tindung is about 35 km north east of Manado, the capital of the Indonesian Province of North Sulawesi. The project entails the development of six open-pit gold mines…
Letter to BankTrack as a response to BT letter of February 11, 2010
Mar 29, 2010 | Equator Principles Financial Insititutions, Citi
The first response ever to one of the letters BankTrack sent to the Equator Principles Financial Insititutions. It is a response to the BankTrack follow up letter after the meeting in Zuerich, February 4.
Open Appeal to ANZ, Standard Bank and BNP Paribas: Stay away from the Toka Tindung gold mine on Sulawesi!
Feb 24, 2010 | BankTrack, et. al.
Open appeal of various international and Indonesian NGOs expressing their concerns with interest of BNP Paribas, ANZ, Standard Bank for Toka Tindung goldmine project
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