Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane, RATP, SNCF Réseau and Société du Grand Paris are among the 17 European companies* that agreed to set up the Corporate Forum on Sustainable Finance which aims to develop sustainable finance as a critical tool to help fight climate change. The Forum, designed as a permanent network for exchanging views and ideas, brings together dynamic “Green Issuers” committed to upholding and developing sustainable finance as a critical tool to fight climate change and to foster a more sustainable and responsible society.
The founding companies aspire to contribute more towards the development of a broader set of financial market instruments under the umbrella of sustainable finance such as green and sustainable bonds and loans, credit facilities as well as other sustainable financing tools recognizing the sustainability of their issuers’ business model.
Representing over two-thirds of green and sustainable bond volumes issued by European corporations, the Forum regards sustainable finance instruments as efficient market-based tools that allocate the economic resources where they are most needed, particularly to low-carbon and sustainable investments, which are central to the members’ corporate strategies.
Within the Forum, to companies will join their efforts to more-deeply integrate the notion of sustainability in the financial strategies, to work with investors to spur the development of a more sustainable economy through innovative financing instruments, and also to increase corporate presence in international and national forums shaping the development of sustainable finance markets. The founding companies will also actively participate in the processes setting the future standards and regulatory frameworks for sustainable finance instruments, will leverage on their mutual expertise and promote best practices on impact reporting and will discuss with rating agencies about more-deeply integrating SRI criteria in the assessment of companies’ long-term financial sustainability.
*The founding companies are involved in a number of industries including electricity utilities, clean transport infrastructures and operations, environmental infrastructures and services, and real estate. They are: EDF, EDP, ENEL, ENGIE, Ferrovie Dello Stato, Iberdrola, Icade, Naturgy, Orsted, RATP, SNCF Réseau, Société du Grand Paris, SSE, Tennet, Terna, Tideway, Vasakronan.
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