Chartered Banker Institute congratulates the Principles for Responsible Banking on its fourth anniversary
22nd September 2023
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION
Chartered Banker Institute congratulates the Principles for Responsible Banking on its fourth anniversary
The Chartered Banker Institute, today congratulates the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and its banking members as they celebrate the fourth anniversary of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB).
The PRB, which is the world’s foremost sustainability framework for the banking sector, brings banks across the world together to work on the most challenging and critical topics facing humanity and the environment. Since its launch in 2019, the membership has seen remarkable growth from 130 founding banks to 325, representing almost 50% of the global banking industry by assets.
The Institute also welcomes the publication of the PRB 2nd Biennial Progress Report, marking the fourth anniversary, which assesses how far signatories have come as they implement the PRB framework.
The Report highlights that there has been considerable progress in integrating the PRB in areas such as embedding sustainability in their core business (94% of member banks now have public strategies that are aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and other relevant frameworks), strengthening their impact analysis (83% are analysing the impacts of their portfolios), setting targets that respond to the most pressing needs of society (77% of members have set at least one public target relating to their most significant area of impact) ,and putting in place effective governance from the most senior level of their organisations (98% have integrated sustainability oversight into their governance). It calls for banks to build upon their progress and accelerate action, enhancing their efforts in critical impact areas such as climate change, human rights, resource efficiency and economic inclusion.
To support PRB signatory banks on this journey, the Institute launched the Principles for Responsible Banking Academy (The PRB Academy) in partnership with UNEP FI and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. Next month, the PRB Academy celebrates its first anniversary and almost 1,000 finance professionals have so far been trained by the PRB Academy since its establishment.
The PRB Academy is an online learning platform designed to support the implementation of the PRB and provide mainstream training on responsible banking to the entire sector. It offers courses aimed at banking professionals of all career levels and over the course of the next five years, it is expected that all 300 plus banks who are signatories to the PRB will make the PRB Academy available to their several million employees.
Welcoming the fourth anniversary of the PRB and publication of the 2nd Biennial Progress Report, Simon Thompson, Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute said:
“The Institute was proud to be one of the first non-bank organisations to endorse the UN Principles for Responsible Banking in 2019. We are proud to congratulate the PRB on its fourth anniversary and I am heartened by the growth in bank membership and the progress made on the integration of the PRB into banks’ strategies. To build upon and accelerate progress, we must raise our collective ambition and rapidly scale the capacity and capabilities of the banking sector so that a knowledge of and ability to apply the principles and practice of responsible banking supports every decision taken by banking and finance professionals. I therefore urge all PRB signatories – indeed all banks, everywhere - to make the PRB Academy available to all employees.”
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For further information contact:
Matthew Ball, Head of Public Affairs, Chartered Banker Institute
Tel: +44 (0) 7720 684226
E-mail: [email protected]