Go Together, Go Far…..

At the Green Horizon Summit on ‘The Pivotal Role of Finance’ earlier this month, Mark Carney,  underlined the importance of the financial sector working together to deliver the transition to low carbon economy, stating ‘if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together’.  

At Ecology, we completely agree. And the need for working together has never been greater. Within ten years, the world must transition to a climate-neutral, climate-resilient, more resource-efficient and circular economy. If we miss this opportunity, our world will start to pass all sorts of climate tipping points which may be irreversible.  

Aligning the business strategies and balance sheets of large financial institutions with a sustainable future is like turning around many very heavy, very slow tankers. But there is no time to delay, the decisions of the financial sector today, will determine our fate. The Green Horizon Summit showed the gradual green awakening of the financial sector, but we must all keep up the pressure to refocus finance on climate action, and call for the future we want to see. 

Working together can help to amplify the voice of smaller financial organisations, as we call for change, and share our own experiences of using finance to create positive impact.  Ecology is a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV), network of organisations working to change the financial system for the better.  

GABV was founded in 2009 and has grown into a network of 65 members and 16 strategic partners, including banks, banking cooperatives and credit unions, microfinance institutions and community development banks, from Asia, Africa, Australia, Latin America, North America and Europe.  

What do all these diverse GABV members have in common? Quite simply, GABV members are mission-driven – our business models focus on achieving social and environmental impact. We also share a commitment to contribute to the positive development of the wider banking sector so it contributes to a sustainable economy for the future.  

A superb example of the value of collaboration is GABV catalysing and expanding the international reach of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), an international industry-led partnership to facilitate transparency and accountability in the financial industry to the Paris Agreement. PCAF has worked together internationally to publish the Global GHG Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Financial Industry, a major step forward for financial institutions to transparently measure and report the carbon emissions associated with their loans and investments. 

As we mark the annual ‘Banking on Values’ Day, let’s collectively call for the banking system we want. One that puts the people and planet at its heart. Change finance to finance change.