About the Sustainable Finance Working Group
The Sustainable Finance Working Group was established in June 2020 to establish the norms and standards that are needed for the development of sustainable finance (SF) instruments in South Africa.
Objectives
The Working Group’s objectives are to
- Map the universe of SF instruments/products globally, with reference to the relevant enabling environments and prevailing norms and standards;
- Understand the relevance, appetite for, and applicability of these instruments to the SA financial markets ; and
- Recommend the enabling environment for SF to grow and support investment in sustainable development.
The initial phase of work was supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and IFC, part of the World Bank Group.
IFC support was provided by IFC’s Green Bond Market Development Program in partnership with SECO (Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs), Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency), and the government of Luxembourg; and by IFC’s Climate Advisory Program in partnership with the government of the Netherlands.
Carbon Trust were commission to undertake research and stakeholder engagement between December 2020 and June 2021 to develop a Sustainable Finance Handbook for South Africa as well as Recommendations on steps that can be taken by various stakeholders, including regulators, to promote an enabling environment for sustainable finance.
Members
The Working Group is chaired by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and supported by Banking Association South Africa (BASA) and the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA) as co-chairs.
Members of the working group include:
- The Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA),
- Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa (Batseta)
- Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)
- National Treasury
- The Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (SAVCA)
- Banking Association South Africa
- BASA members: ABSA, FirstRand, Investec, Standard Bank, Nedbank, HSBC, BNP Paribas
Scroll down for more information and additional Project Resources.
Project Resources
DRAFT Sustainable Finance Handbook for South Africa, June 2021
