Sustainable - Long Reads, News, Articles & Research: Finextra

What is the state of the global carbon market?

Last week, the UK Government published a report outlining a consultation titled Voluntary Carbon and Nature Markets: Raising Integrity, which outlined principles for carbon credit integrity. The move marks the UK’s broader ambition in becoming a climate finance hub, and raises questions around what is being done globally to address carbon credits ...

23 April 2025 /sustainable

Priorities for UK climate policy following COP29

Richard Peers Founder at ResponsibleRisk Ltd

Priorities for UK climate policy following COP29

On Thursday, 3 April, business leaders and policymakers gathered online for a pivotal event organised by Westminster Forum Events. The event featured opening remarks by Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, who emphasised the need for transformative change in addressing climate challenges. Key outcomes from COP29 Richard Millar, head of adaptation at ...

17 April 2025 /sustainable

How are sustainable finance products being incorporated into UK pension schemes?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

How are sustainable finance products being incorporated into UK pension schemes?

In partnership with the University of Glasgow and University of Strathclyde, Fintech Scotland released a report on sustainable financial products and UK pension schemes last month. This article covers the findings of the report and their significance to the UK economy and sustainable finance initiatives. How is ESG being integrated into current pe...

16 April 2025 /sustainable

10 B Corp-certified financial institutions

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

10 B Corp-certified financial institutions

US-based organisation, B Labs is rapidly becoming a globally-recognised symbol of ethical business, with more and more businesses undergoing the vigorous process to become B Corp-certified. B Labs is working to expand its guidelines to include all types of businesses, and will likely to continue to develop and improve on requirements as the global...

02 January 2025 /sustainable

What the EU deforestation law delay means for fintech

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What the EU deforestation law delay means for fintech

The EU deforestation law was proposed in June 2023 to propel environmental efforts by curbing logging and deforestation practices in nations that export to the EU. The legislation was a move towards reducing EU consumers’ impact on global deforestation, however it saw pushback from multiple nations. What is the EU deforestation law? The law would ...

11 December 2024 /sustainable

Fracking hell: What Trump’s second presidency means for green initiatives

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

Fracking hell: What Trump’s second presidency means for green initiatives

After a whirlwind election that saw the US map run red earlier this month, Donald Trump has been elected as the 47th US president. With a Republican majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, it is expected that sustainable ambitions and green initiatives will be taking a backseat (to say it lightly) for the next four years. While Democra...

27 November 2024 /sustainable

How sustainable finance powers community projects

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

How sustainable finance powers community projects

Two sessions at the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) annual conference in Nashville - among several others covering various subsets of the discipline - offered practical and promising insights into the continuing growth of sustainable finance in the corporate and consumer arenas. One involved the Canadian/global bank CIBC and two of i...

21 November 2024 /sustainable

COP16 roundup: What is the future of nature financing?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

COP16 roundup: What is the future of nature financing?

The UN’s Biodiversity Summit (COP16) took place from 22 October – 8 November this year in Cali, Colombia, bringing together 196 government representatives to discuss the future of global biodiversity. The summit started off with lots of questions and ended with many left unanswered. The conference was plagued by loss of attendees, as many represent...

18 November 2024 /sustainable

Will ESG-linked accounts help banks stand out from their sustainable finance competitors?

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Will ESG-linked accounts help banks stand out from their sustainable finance competitors?

When Standard Chartered introduced its ESG-linked account in August 2024, it wasn’t the first time the bank had turned its focus directly towards environmental and social issues in its product portfolio. In fact, the bank’s sustainable account - which offers clients access to their cash while investing the surplus to support United Nations Sustai...

05 November 2024 /sustainable

What is B Corp certification and how does it work?

Sehrish Alikhan Reporter at Finextra

What is B Corp certification and how does it work?

B Corporation certification has taken off in the sustainability sector, with more and more companies working on getting B Corp certified to establish themselves as environmentally-focused and socially ethical. Currently, there are a lot of businesses that have become B Corp certified, such as The Body Shop, Ben & Jerry’s, Aesop, Illy Caffe, Co...

03 October 2024 /sustainable

The 'good stuff' happening in sustainable lending in the US

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

The 'good stuff' happening in sustainable lending in the US

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by the US Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Biden, is working as intended, and America’s major banks are getting onboard with sustainable lending. That’s what we’re hearing from leaders of the financial institution wing of Boston-based Ceres – the nonprofit advocacy organisation formed in ...

30 September 2024 /sustainable

Connecting the dots between sustainability and banking

Scott Hamilton Contributing Editor at Finextra Research

Connecting the dots between sustainability and banking

Sustainability – at least as a loosely defined concept - has been a focus for financial institutions since the early 2000s, when concerns about the effects of global warming skyrocketed worldwide. In some arenas, interest in confronting and adapting to changes in climate and society started growing well before that. Has that focus paid off in the ...

27 August 2024 /sustainable

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