The Financial Centre for Sustainability in Spain (Finresp) has presented its commitments to the environment and responsible finance, within the framework of the Climate Summit.
Finresp is an initiative of AEB, CECA, Inverco, Unacc and Unespa to address the needs of Spain’s productive fabric, particularly SMEs, in their adaptation to the sustainability principles and standards developed by the UN.
The Financial Centre for Sustainability in Spain (Finresp) today presented a programme of commitments on the occasion of the Climate Summit -COP25-, which is being held these days in Madrid within the framework of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.
At an event held at the Spain Pavilion at IFEMA, the venue for COP25, José María Roldán, President of Finresp, highlighted the importance of the entire Spanish financial system—banks, savings banks, credit cooperatives, insurers, collective investment institutions and pension funds—having launched a joint initiative—embodied in Finresp—with the aim of helping Spanish companies undertake the transition towards a fairer, more sustainable and more environmentally friendly economy.
The event also featured the participation of Sabine Döbeli, CEO of Swiss Sustainable Finance, who held a dialogue with José María Roldán, moderated by Ángel Bergés, Vice President of AFI, on the contribution of the private financial sector to the transition towards a low-carbon economy.
During this dialogue, the President of Finresp described as “historic” the fact that all Spanish financial stakeholders are coordinating their efforts to facilitate their clients’ and suppliers’ transition towards a more sustainable economy. “This will not be easy and will not be without costs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Roldán, who stressed that this process will require very substantial investments, making the involvement of the private financial sector essential.”
In this regard, Sabine Döbeli shared the Swiss experience: an ambitious project that has gone beyond the financial sector to bring together all the country’s economic stakeholders in an initiative called Building Bridges, which aims to harness the full potential of the public and private sectors in the fight against climate change.
During the event, José María Roldán presented the agreements adopted by Finresp in the context of COP25, including the objective of promoting financial-sector institutions’ adherence to the sustainability principles and standards developed by the United Nations. It also aims to encourage the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into decision-making; raise awareness among clients and suppliers in the area of sustainability; and publicly, transparently and regularly disclose progress in applying these principles. In this regard, Finresp undertakes to produce an annual report on progress in sustainable finance in Spain.
The Financial Centre for Sustainability also intends to collaborate actively with public authorities in shaping and implementing an effective regulatory framework to achieve the objectives of combating climate change.
Regarding this agreement, José María Méndez, Director General of CECA, considers that “the role the financial sector will play as a driver of a new productive model based on a decarbonised economy is key. European authorities must facilitate this work in designing the new Green Deal.”
Pilar González de Frutos, President of Unespa, highlighted that “insurance has an in-depth understanding of the importance of sustainability and supports it through prevention and protection”. González de Frutos explained how “when a catastrophe occurs, insurance is the first to come to people’s aid. In this work, public-private collaboration is essential. A good example is Spain’s Insurance Compensation Consortium.” Moreover, the President of Unespa stressed that “the role of insurance as an institutional investor makes it a benchmark player in promoting sustainable finance”.
For Inverco President Ángel Martínez-Aldama, “integrating sustainability not only into investment selection but also into risk management is a challenge for all asset managers, but also an opportunity, as it strengthens the long-term perspective of investors and managers, contributes to building more resilient portfolios and, ultimately, stimulates the generation of sustainable wealth for investors and for society as a whole”.
For Manuel Ruiz Escudero, President of Unacc, “Finresp’s statement in the context of COP25 reflects the vocation of credit cooperatives, as part of the Spanish financial system, to align with the sustainability objectives defined by the United Nations, as well as the strong impetus they are giving to financing organic farming, to obtain fruit and vegetables for a healthy diet”.
Download Finresp’s institutional statement at COP25
Download Finresp’s institutional statement at COP25 in English
