Kontroverse Projektfinanzierung - Equator Principles
The Collevecchio Declaration on financial Institutions and Sustainability (27.01.03)
The Collevecchio Declaration on financial Institutions and Sustainability
Financial institutions (FIs) such as banks and asset managers can and must play a positive role in advancing environmental and social sustainability. This declaration calls on FIs to embrace six commitments which reflect civil society’s expectations of the role and responsibilities of the financial services sector in fostering sustainability. The following civil society organizations call on FIs to embrace the following commitments, and take immediate steps to implement them as a way for FIs to retain their social license to operate.
The Role and Responsibility of Financial Institutions
The financial sector’s role of facilitating and managing capital is important; and finance, like communications or technology, is not inherently at odds with sustainability.
However, in the current context of globalization, financial institutions (FIs) play key roles in channeling financial flows, creating financial markets and influencing international policies in ways that are too often unaccountable to citizens, and harmful to the environment, human rights, and social equity.
Although the most well-known cases of resource misallocation in the financial sector have been associated with the high tech and telecom bubbles, FIs have played a role in irresponsibly channeling money to unethical companies, corrupt governments, and egregious projects. In the Global South, FIs’ increasing role in development finance has meant that they bear significant responsibility for international financial crises, and the crushing burden of developing country debt. However, most FIs do not accept responsibility for the environmental and social harm created by their transactions, even though they may be eager to take credit for the economic development and benefits derived from their services. And relatively few FIs, in their role as creditors, analysts, underwriters, advisers, or investors effectively use their power to deliberately channel finance into sustainable enterprises, or encourage their clients to embrace sustainability.
Similarly, the vast majority of FIs do not play a proactive role in creating financial markets that value communities and the environment. As companies FIs concentrate on maximizing shareholder value, while as financiers they seek to maximize profit; this dual role means that FIs have played a pivotal role in creating financial markets that predominantly value short-term returns. These brief time horizons create intense pressure for companies to put short-term profits before longer-term sustainability goals, such as social stability and ecological health.
Finally, through the work of international public policy bodies such as the Bretton Woods institutions, the power of FIs has increasingly expanded as countries have deregulated, liberalized, and privatized their economies and financial markets. Financial institutions have not only actively promoted these policies and processes, but they have benefited from them through increased profit and influence.
In too many cases, FIs have unfairly benefited at the expense of communities and the environment. For example, during financial crises, many FIs charged high risk premiums to indebted countries, while at the same time benefiting from public bail-outs. Some FIs have spoken out against innovative solutions to the debt crisis, such as the sovereign-debt restructuring processes proposed by civil society groups and now being discussed in the International Monetary Fund. And FIs’ voices have been absent in efforts to address tax havens, a problem that blocks progress towards equity and sustainability.
As a result, civil society is increasingly questioning the financial sector’s accountability and responsibility, and challenging FIs’ social license to operate. As major actors in the global economy, FIs should embrace a commitment to sustainability that reflects best practice from the corporate social responsibility movement, while recognizing that voluntary measures alone are not sufficient, and that they must support regulations that will help the sector advance sustainability.
Six Commitments to Key Principles
Acknowledging that FIs, like all corporations, exist as creations of society to act in the public interest, FIs should promote the restoration and protection of the environment, and promote universal human rights and social justice. These principles should be inherent in the way that they offer financial products and services, and conduct their businesses.
Finance and commerce has been at the center of a historic detachment between the world’s natural resource base, production and consumption. As we reach the boundaries of the ecological limits upon which all commerce relies, the financial sector should take its share of responsibility for reversing the effects this detachment has produced. Thus, an appropriate goal of FIs should be the advancement of environmental protection and social justice rather than solely the maximization of financial return. To achieve this goal, FIs should embrace the following six commitments:
1. Commitment to Sustainability
FIs must expand their missions from ones that prioritize profit maximization to a vision of social and evironmenmental sustainability. A commitment to sustainability would require FIs to fully integrate the consideration of ecological limits, social equity and economic justice into corporate strategies and core business areas (including credit, investing, underwriting, advising), to put sustainability objectives on an equal footing to shareholder maximization and client satisfaction, and to actively strive to finance transactions that promote sustainability.
2. Commitment to ‘Do No Harm’
FIs should commit to do no harm by preventing and minimizing the environmentally and/or socially detrimental impacts of their portfolios and their operations. FIs should create policies, procedures and standards based on the Precautionary Principle to minimize environmental and social harm, improve social and environmental conditions where they and their clients operate, and avoid involvement in transactions that undermine sustainability.
3. Commitment to Responsibility.
FIs should bear full responsibility for the environmental and social impacts of their transactions. FIs must also pay their full and fair share of the risks they accept and create. This includes financial risks, as well as social and environmental costs that are borne by communities.
4. Commitment to Accountability
FIs must be accountable to their stakeholders, particularly those that are affected by the companies and activities they finance. Accountability means that stakeholders must have an influential voice in financial decisions that affect the quality of their environments and their lives -- both through ensuring that stakeholders rights are protected by law, and through practices and procedures adopted by FIs themselves.
5. Commitment to Transparency
FIs must be transparent to stakeholders, not only through robust, regular and standardized disclosure, but also by being responsive to stakeholder needs for specialized information on FIs’ policies, procedures and transactions. Commerical confidentiality should not be used as an excuse deny stakeholders information.
6. Commitment to Sustainable Markets and Governance
FIs should ensure that markets are more capable of fostering sustainability by actively supporting public policy, regulatory and/or market mechanisms which facilitate sustainability and that foster the full cost accounting of social and environmental externalities.
The Role and Responsibility of Financial Institutions
The financial sector’s role of facilitating and managing capital is important; and finance, like communications or technology, is not inherently at odds with sustainability.
However, in the current context of globalization, financial institutions (FIs) play key roles in channeling financial flows, creating financial markets and influencing international policies in ways that are too often unaccountable to citizens, and harmful to the environment, human rights, and social equity.
Although the most well-known cases of resource misallocation in the financial sector have been associated with the high tech and telecom bubbles, FIs have played a role in irresponsibly channeling money to unethical companies, corrupt governments, and egregious projects. In the Global South, FIs’ increasing role in development finance has meant that they bear significant responsibility for international financial crises, and the crushing burden of developing country debt. However, most FIs do not accept responsibility for the environmental and social harm created by their transactions, even though they may be eager to take credit for the economic development and benefits derived from their services. And relatively few FIs, in their role as creditors, analysts, underwriters, advisers, or investors effectively use their power to deliberately channel finance into sustainable enterprises, or encourage their clients to embrace sustainability.
Similarly, the vast majority of FIs do not play a proactive role in creating financial markets that value communities and the environment. As companies FIs concentrate on maximizing shareholder value, while as financiers they seek to maximize profit; this dual role means that FIs have played a pivotal role in creating financial markets that predominantly value short-term returns. These brief time horizons create intense pressure for companies to put short-term profits before longer-term sustainability goals, such as social stability and ecological health.
Finally, through the work of international public policy bodies such as the Bretton Woods institutions, the power of FIs has increasingly expanded as countries have deregulated, liberalized, and privatized their economies and financial markets. Financial institutions have not only actively promoted these policies and processes, but they have benefited from them through increased profit and influence.
In too many cases, FIs have unfairly benefited at the expense of communities and the environment. For example, during financial crises, many FIs charged high risk premiums to indebted countries, while at the same time benefiting from public bail-outs. Some FIs have spoken out against innovative solutions to the debt crisis, such as the sovereign-debt restructuring processes proposed by civil society groups and now being discussed in the International Monetary Fund. And FIs’ voices have been absent in efforts to address tax havens, a problem that blocks progress towards equity and sustainability.
As a result, civil society is increasingly questioning the financial sector’s accountability and responsibility, and challenging FIs’ social license to operate. As major actors in the global economy, FIs should embrace a commitment to sustainability that reflects best practice from the corporate social responsibility movement, while recognizing that voluntary measures alone are not sufficient, and that they must support regulations that will help the sector advance sustainability.
Six Commitments to Key Principles
Acknowledging that FIs, like all corporations, exist as creations of society to act in the public interest, FIs should promote the restoration and protection of the environment, and promote universal human rights and social justice. These principles should be inherent in the way that they offer financial products and services, and conduct their businesses.
Finance and commerce has been at the center of a historic detachment between the world’s natural resource base, production and consumption. As we reach the boundaries of the ecological limits upon which all commerce relies, the financial sector should take its share of responsibility for reversing the effects this detachment has produced. Thus, an appropriate goal of FIs should be the advancement of environmental protection and social justice rather than solely the maximization of financial return. To achieve this goal, FIs should embrace the following six commitments:
1. Commitment to Sustainability
FIs must expand their missions from ones that prioritize profit maximization to a vision of social and evironmenmental sustainability. A commitment to sustainability would require FIs to fully integrate the consideration of ecological limits, social equity and economic justice into corporate strategies and core business areas (including credit, investing, underwriting, advising), to put sustainability objectives on an equal footing to shareholder maximization and client satisfaction, and to actively strive to finance transactions that promote sustainability.
2. Commitment to ‘Do No Harm’
FIs should commit to do no harm by preventing and minimizing the environmentally and/or socially detrimental impacts of their portfolios and their operations. FIs should create policies, procedures and standards based on the Precautionary Principle to minimize environmental and social harm, improve social and environmental conditions where they and their clients operate, and avoid involvement in transactions that undermine sustainability.
3. Commitment to Responsibility.
FIs should bear full responsibility for the environmental and social impacts of their transactions. FIs must also pay their full and fair share of the risks they accept and create. This includes financial risks, as well as social and environmental costs that are borne by communities.
4. Commitment to Accountability
FIs must be accountable to their stakeholders, particularly those that are affected by the companies and activities they finance. Accountability means that stakeholders must have an influential voice in financial decisions that affect the quality of their environments and their lives -- both through ensuring that stakeholders rights are protected by law, and through practices and procedures adopted by FIs themselves.
5. Commitment to Transparency
FIs must be transparent to stakeholders, not only through robust, regular and standardized disclosure, but also by being responsive to stakeholder needs for specialized information on FIs’ policies, procedures and transactions. Commerical confidentiality should not be used as an excuse deny stakeholders information.
6. Commitment to Sustainable Markets and Governance
FIs should ensure that markets are more capable of fostering sustainability by actively supporting public policy, regulatory and/or market mechanisms which facilitate sustainability and that foster the full cost accounting of social and environmental externalities.
Collevecchio Declaration organizational signatories as of January 25, 2003
A SEED, Netherlands
Adrian Dominican Sisters, USA
Aid Through Trade, USA
Aksjon Slett U-landsgjelda (SLUG) The Norwegian Campaign for Debt Cancellation, Norway
Alliance for Democracy, Mendocino Coast Chapter, USA
Armenia - Holland "BLUE TULIP" Friendship Union, Armenia
Asociacion Civil Labor, Peru
Association for Accounting and Business Affairs, UK
Associazione Terres des Hommes, Italy
Attac – Italy
Bank Information Center, USA
Bay Area Jubilee Debt Cancellation Coalition, USA
BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany
CalPERRS - California Public Employees for a Responsible Retirement, USA
Campagna per la riforma della Banca mondiale, Italy
Catholic Healthcare West, USA
CEE Bankwatch Network, Czech Republic
Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc., Papua New Guinea
Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy
Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnologia Apropiada (Friends of the Earth, El Salvador)
Citizen Works, USA
Community "Atgaja", Lithuania
Co-op America, USA
Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice
Development VISIONS (DV), Pakistan
Down to Earth: the International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia, UK
EarthRights International- Thailand
EarthRights International- USA
Ecosouthwest, Bulgaria
Euronatur - European Nature Heritage Fund, Germany
Fair Trade Federation, USA
First Nations Development Institute/First Peoples Worldwide, USA
Forum for Consultation with Civil Society on Structural Adjustment, FOCO
Friends of the Earth Amazonia, Brazil
Friends of the Earth, Australia
Friends of the Earth, Canada
GeoEcoClub "Academica", Bulgaria
Global Exchange, USA
Global Response, USA
Grassroots Globalization Network (GGN), A project of Earth Island Institute, USA
Green Women, Hungary
Greenpeace – Italy
Halifax Initiative (14 groups), Canada
Hnuti DUHA/Friends of the Earth Czech Republic
Indigenous Environmental Network, USA/Canada
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, USA
Instituto Iberamericano de Vigilancia Economica e Social, Brasil
International Group for Grassroots Initiatives, India
International Rivers Network, USA
International Simultaneous Policy Organization
Intersos, Italy
Jersey Attac (Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Good of the People), Jersey Islands
JoMiJo Foundation, USA
Jubilee USA Network, USA
Legambiente, Italy
Lithuanian Green Movement/Friends of the Earth Lithuania
Milieudefensie, Netherlands
Mineral Policy institute, Australia
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, USA
MOSOP, Denmark
Netwerk Vlaanderen VZW, Belgium
New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, USA
Nicaragua Center for Community Action, Nicaragua
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, USA
Obed Watershed Association
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, USA
One World, UK
Organic Consumers Association
Pakistan Network of Rivers, Dams and People, Pakistan
ParkWatch Action Network, USA
Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), USA
Pro Natura - Friends of the Earth Switzerland
Rainforest Action Network, USA
Rivista Solidarieta' Internazionale, Italy
Sierra Club of/du Canada
Sierra Club, USA
Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), USA
Southern Neighborhoods Network, USA
Southern Oregon Forest Coalition, USA
Students for a Free Tibet, USA
SustainUS, USA
Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, Switzerland
The Berne Declaration, Switzerland
The Corner House, UK
The Gaia Trust, UK
The Mauritius Council for Development, Environmental Studies & Conservation (MAUDESCO), Mauritius
The Union of Environmental Protection And Animal Rights, Georgia
TIKKUN Magazine, USA
TIME - Ecoprojects Foundation, USA
U.S. Tibet Committee, USA
Uganda Youth Network, Uganda
United Church of Christ Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility, USA
United for a Fair Economy, USA
Urgewald, Germany
WACAM, Ghana
WarWatch Network, USA
Wildnerness Society, Australia
Women's Eyes on the Multilaterals Campaign, Mexico
World Bank Boycott, Czech Republic
World Wildlife Fund – Italy
World Wildlife Fund – United Kingdom
WTO Watch Qld, Australia
Adrian Dominican Sisters, USA
Aid Through Trade, USA
Aksjon Slett U-landsgjelda (SLUG) The Norwegian Campaign for Debt Cancellation, Norway
Alliance for Democracy, Mendocino Coast Chapter, USA
Armenia - Holland "BLUE TULIP" Friendship Union, Armenia
Asociacion Civil Labor, Peru
Association for Accounting and Business Affairs, UK
Associazione Terres des Hommes, Italy
Attac – Italy
Bank Information Center, USA
Bay Area Jubilee Debt Cancellation Coalition, USA
BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany
CalPERRS - California Public Employees for a Responsible Retirement, USA
Campagna per la riforma della Banca mondiale, Italy
Catholic Healthcare West, USA
CEE Bankwatch Network, Czech Republic
Center for Environmental Law and Community Rights Inc., Papua New Guinea
Centro Internazionale Crocevia, Italy
Centro Salvadoreño de Tecnologia Apropiada (Friends of the Earth, El Salvador)
Citizen Works, USA
Community "Atgaja", Lithuania
Co-op America, USA
Cumberland Countians for Peace & Justice
Development VISIONS (DV), Pakistan
Down to Earth: the International Campaign for Ecological Justice in Indonesia, UK
EarthRights International- Thailand
EarthRights International- USA
Ecosouthwest, Bulgaria
Euronatur - European Nature Heritage Fund, Germany
Fair Trade Federation, USA
First Nations Development Institute/First Peoples Worldwide, USA
Forum for Consultation with Civil Society on Structural Adjustment, FOCO
Friends of the Earth Amazonia, Brazil
Friends of the Earth, Australia
Friends of the Earth, Canada
GeoEcoClub "Academica", Bulgaria
Global Exchange, USA
Global Response, USA
Grassroots Globalization Network (GGN), A project of Earth Island Institute, USA
Green Women, Hungary
Greenpeace – Italy
Halifax Initiative (14 groups), Canada
Hnuti DUHA/Friends of the Earth Czech Republic
Indigenous Environmental Network, USA/Canada
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, USA
Instituto Iberamericano de Vigilancia Economica e Social, Brasil
International Group for Grassroots Initiatives, India
International Rivers Network, USA
International Simultaneous Policy Organization
Intersos, Italy
Jersey Attac (Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions for the Good of the People), Jersey Islands
JoMiJo Foundation, USA
Jubilee USA Network, USA
Legambiente, Italy
Lithuanian Green Movement/Friends of the Earth Lithuania
Milieudefensie, Netherlands
Mineral Policy institute, Australia
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, USA
MOSOP, Denmark
Netwerk Vlaanderen VZW, Belgium
New York Whale and Dolphin Action League, USA
Nicaragua Center for Community Action, Nicaragua
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, USA
Obed Watershed Association
Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, USA
One World, UK
Organic Consumers Association
Pakistan Network of Rivers, Dams and People, Pakistan
ParkWatch Action Network, USA
Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA), USA
Pro Natura - Friends of the Earth Switzerland
Rainforest Action Network, USA
Rivista Solidarieta' Internazionale, Italy
Sierra Club of/du Canada
Sierra Club, USA
Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), USA
Southern Neighborhoods Network, USA
Southern Oregon Forest Coalition, USA
Students for a Free Tibet, USA
SustainUS, USA
Swiss Coalition of Development Organizations, Switzerland
The Berne Declaration, Switzerland
The Corner House, UK
The Gaia Trust, UK
The Mauritius Council for Development, Environmental Studies & Conservation (MAUDESCO), Mauritius
The Union of Environmental Protection And Animal Rights, Georgia
TIKKUN Magazine, USA
TIME - Ecoprojects Foundation, USA
U.S. Tibet Committee, USA
Uganda Youth Network, Uganda
United Church of Christ Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility, USA
United for a Fair Economy, USA
Urgewald, Germany
WACAM, Ghana
WarWatch Network, USA
Wildnerness Society, Australia
Women's Eyes on the Multilaterals Campaign, Mexico
World Bank Boycott, Czech Republic
World Wildlife Fund – Italy
World Wildlife Fund – United Kingdom
WTO Watch Qld, Australia