November 2, 2022 — National Bank of Georgia, IFC, and SBFN co-hosted the 4th annual Sustainable Finance Forum in Tbilisi, Georgia, in partnership with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in Switzerland (SECO). The event has increased its global reach over the years and was attended by over 300 participants from 55 countries both in person and virtually.
The NBG-SBFN-IFC Sustainable Finance Forum is an annual event that has become a platform for fruitful discussions with different stakeholders on the development of Sustainable Finance in Georgia and other emerging markets. This conference brought together senior representatives from the EU and SBFN member countries, governors and senior officials of central banks from different regions, senior representatives from the Government of Georgia, IFC experts, Presidents/CEOs and senior leadership of financial institutions, and other stakeholders.
The forum covered a broad range of sustainable finance topics, including the use of roadmaps to guide and measure country progress, taxonomy development, data and disclosure policies and practices, the critical role of the private sector in policy development and implementation, and emerging trends such as climate-related and biodiversity risks, just transition, capacity building and alignment, and the potential role of fintech in sustainable finance. NBG celebrated achievements through its first SF Roadmap for 2019-2022, and IFC announced a new collaboration with the Banking Association of Georgia to promote sustainable finance and good ESG practices in the banking sector. SBFN welcomed the Banking Association as a new member during the event.
The forum was also an opportunity to have closed doors meetings of the SBFN Working Groups on measurement, sustainable finance instruments, and data & disclosure. These meetings provided a unique platform for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and space for SBFN members to share their experiences with the broader SBFN community.