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SBFN Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group

Webinar on the Upcoming Launch of SBFN Taxonomy Toolkit

On 24 April 2024, SBFN held a webinar to present the upcoming publication of the Toolkit on Sustainable Finance Taxonomies, which resulted from work by the Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group between February 2022 and April 2024. Read more

About This Working Group

SBFN members are committed to leveraging green and sustainability-focused capital flows to build resilient and inclusive economies. They are therefore interested in the tools and instruments that can be used to unlock the trillions of dollars in green, social, and climate-related investment opportunities in emerging markets.

The Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group (formerly the Green Bond Working Group) responds to members’ interest in the rapidly expanding market for and innovations in sustainable finance instruments.

It led to the 2018 report Creating Green Bond Markets, which mapped green bond market developments in over 22 emerging markets and included a practical toolkit for SBFN members.

Between 2022 and 2024, the working group focused on developments in national and regional sustainable finance taxonomies as a tool to define eligible assets that help achieve environmental and social goals and prevent greenwashing.

The case for sustainable finance taxonomies

Over the past decade, SBFN members have identified national sustainable finance taxonomies as a key step in their national sustainable finance roadmaps and an essential tool to help the financial sector define and evaluate projects, assets, and activities that qualify as green, socially inclusive, and sustainable.

Clear and consistent definitions are crucial in mobilizing financial flows into sectors that have positive environmental and social impacts. Taxonomies can also ensure that projects meet national regulations and international standards for managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risk.

In 2023, IFC and the Equator Principles Association published related research on Promoting Interoperability Across Environmental and Social Risk Management Frameworks: How the IFC Environmental and Social Performance Standards and World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines Align with the EU Taxonomy’s “Do No Significant Harm” and Minimum Safeguards Criteria 

As taxonomies gain credibility, they have significant potential to scale up finance in projects that meet environmental and social goals, including the transition to low-carbon and climate resilient economies.

Working group activities and outputs

The working group is currently chaired by Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK), National Treasury of South Africa and Latin American Banking Federation (FELABAN).

Research and engagement were carried out by the SBFN Secretariat. SBFN members gave feedback on research findings and a draft Taxonomy Toolkit at four consultation meetings:

First Meeting of the SBFN Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group

24 February 2022

Regional meeting of the SBFN Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group: Latin America and the Caribbean

13 October 2022

Regional meeting of the SBFN Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group:
Africa-Asia-Europe

20 October 2022

SBFN member consultation on forthcoming Taxonomy Toolkit

20 March 2024

In addition, the working group has engaged actively with SBFN members, partner agencies, and experts to explore and support the global trend in taxonomy development and implementation to support sustainable finance:

  •  Detailed benchmarking of 12 SBFN countries that have issued sustainable finance taxonomies, as well as comparison with regional taxonomies by the Association for South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union.
  • Webinars and virtual peer-to-peer learning for SBFN members to learn directly from each other as they develop taxonomies.
  • Training delivered to countries starting out on their taxonomy journeys.
  • Cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) to develop an e-learning on Sustainable Finance Taxonomies, published on the UNCC-eLearn platform in English, French and Spanish: https://unccelearn.org/course/view.php?id=160&page=overview.
  •  Collaboration with staff from the World Bank, IMF, and OECD, with input from staff from BIS, to publish a paper on “Activating Alignment: Applying the G-20 Principles for Sustainable Finance Alignment with a Focus on Climate Change Mitigation” (September 2023), https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/financialsector/publication/activating-alignment 
  • Development of a Toolkit on Sustainable Finance Taxonomies for use by members.

Working Group Co-Chairs

Vukile Davidson

Mr. Vukile Davidson

Chief Director: Financial Markets and Stability, National Treasury of South Africa

Bpk. Henry Rialdi

Mr. Henry Rialdi

Department Head, Department of Surveillance and Integrated Financial Services Sector Policy, Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (Indonesia, Financial Services Authority)
Giorgio Trettenero

Mr. Giorgio Trettenero

Secretary General, Latin American Banking Federation, FELABAN

Working Group Members

Click on the green bar below to search the table of contributing members and organisations.

You can also search keywords in each table by using the search box.

RegionCountryOrganisation
Asia & PacificCambodiaThe Association of Banks in Cambodia
Asia & PacificChinaChina Banking Association
Asia & PacificFijiReserve Bank of Fiji (RBF)
Asia & PacificIndonesiaIndonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK) (co-chair)
Asia & PacificMaldivesMaldives Monetary Authority
Asia & PacificMongoliaBank of Mongolia
Asia & PacificMongoliaMongolian Sustainable Finance Association (MSFA)
Asia & PacificPhilippinesBangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Asia & PacificSamoaCentral Bank of Samoa
Asia & PacificSri LankaCentral Bank of Sri Lanka
Asia & PacificViet NamState Bank of Viet Nam
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaArmeniaCentral Bank of Armenia
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaGeorgiaNational Bank of Georgia
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaKyrgyz RepublicThe Union of Banks of Kyrgyzstan
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaMoldovaNational Bank of Moldova
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaSerbiaAssociation of Serbian Banks
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaTurkeyBanking Regulation and Supervision Agency of Turkey (BRSA)
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaUkraineNational Bank of Ukraine
Eastern Europe and Central AsiaUkraineNational Securities and Stock MArket Commission of Ukraine
Latin America the CaribbeanBrazilFEBRABAN
Latin America the CaribbeanColombiaAsobancaria
Latin America the CaribbeanColombiaSuperintendencia Financiera de Colombia
Latin America the CaribbeanCosta RicaCosta Rica´s General Superintendence of Financial Institutions
Latin America the CaribbeanHondurasNational Commission of Banks and Insurance (CNBS)
Latin America the CaribbeanPanamaBanco General, S.A.
Latin America the CaribbeanParaguayCENTRAL BANK OF PARAGUAY
Latin America the CaribbeanParaguayMesa de Finanzas Sostenibles del Paraguay
Latin America the CaribbeanRegional, Eastern CaribbeanEastern Caribbean Central Bank
Latin America the CaribbeanRegional, LAC FELABAN (Latin American Banks Federation) (co-chair)
Middle East & AfricaEgyptCentral Bank of Egypt
Middle East & AfricaGhanaBank of Ghana
Middle East & AfricaGhanaGhana Association of Banks
Middle East & AfricaIraqCentral Bank of Iraq
Middle East & AfricaMoroccoAutorité Marocaine du Marché des Capitaux (AMMC)
Middle East & AfricaNigeriaCentral Bank of Nigeria
Middle East & AfricaRegional, Central AfricaCOSUMAF
Middle East & AfricaSouth AfricaThe Banking Association of South Africa
Middle East & AfricaSouth AfricaNational Treasury South Africa (co-chair)

Working Group Meetings

In February 2022, the working group hosted its first meeting.

Over 100 participants joined the 2-hour virtual discussion, representing SBFN members and partner organizations.

The meeting included presentations from a panel of experts active on the frontier of national taxonomy development and efforts towards global and regional convergence. 

Denise_Odaro_400x400.jpg

Ms. Denise Odaro

Head of Investor Relations, International Finance Corporation

Chair of the Steering Committee of the Green and Social Bond Principles, ICMA – on the landscape of sustainable finance opportunities.

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Farah Imrana Hussain

Ms. Farah Imrana Hussain

Senior Financial Officer, World Bank : Emerging good practice and insights from World Bank Group experiences supporting emerging markets to develop taxonomies.

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Dr Ma Jun

Dr. Ma Jun

Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking, Co-Chair of G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, Co-Chair of IPSF Taxonomy Working Group.s

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Ephyro Luis Amatong

Mr. Ephyro Luis Amatong

Commissioner at Securities & Exchange Commission, Republic of the Philippines

Experience of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum in developing regional taxonomy – on the powerful example of collaboration among ASEAN countries on a joint taxonomy.

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Christelle van Vuuren

Ms. Christelle van Vuuren

Director, Carbon Trust, Africa

on the South African Process to develop a green finance taxonomy aligned with the EU approach.

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