In a previous blog we reported on the ICC Commission on Environment and Energy issuance of a Policy Statement on ‘Sustainability Reporting - Future Directions' in December 2015, and the more recent establishment, by the ICC Banking Commission, of a Sustainable Trade Finance Working Group that serves to introduce standards and certifications for the industry. Taking inspiration from IFC's GMAP and the Better Cotton Initiative, the working group is creating a framework or one-stop tool that will help both banks and exporters to identify and mitigate the underlying risks for certain countries and commodity combinations. (ICC Banking Commission Annual Meeting Miami, 3-6 April 2018) In addition, the group is developing educational tools.
It is interesting to note that this subject appears, in many arenas, to have gained a new shorthand title, i.e., that of ‘CleanTech', raising the profile alongside the likes of FinTech, RegTech, etc.
According to EDC President and CEO Benoit Daignault, total worldwide investment in ‘cleantech' has reached US$1 trillion and, by 2020, that total is expected to rise to 2.5 trillion. https://edc.trade/cleantech-international-trade-opportunity
A number of definitions exist for ‘Clean Technology' or ‘CleanTech', including:
- Refers to any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_technology
- Often used interchangeably with the term greentech, has emerged as an umbrella term encompassing the investment asset class, technology, and business sectors which include clean energy, environmental, and sustainable or green, products and services. http://www.cleantech.org/what-is-cleantech/
We are likely to see many advances on this topic over the coming years and we will, as always, monitor developments.