In Focus Commercial Credit


Sustainability: a key target for finance and industry


Across Europe, a wide number of areas are needing to come together to build a truly sustainable future


Christian Thimann Chairman, the EU High- Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance


Sustainability is the theme of our time – and the financial system has a key role to play in delivering that set of ambitions. Sustainability means making economic


prosperity long-lasting, more socially inclusive and also less dependent on the exploitation of finite resources and the natural environment.


Additional investment This transition towards a more sustainable economic model does require large-scale investments in the economy. The European Commission estimates


that to achieve the EU’s targets for energy and climate policy alone, additional annual investments of €170bn are required. The investments needed to meet the


Sustainable Development Goals, more broadly, will be even higher. The current investment gap calls for


rapid and substantial redeployment of capital towards sustainable activities that shall foster employment, productivity, and the competitiveness of the EU’s economy.


Remaining vulnerability Ensuring the financial system contributes to economic sustainability is particularly vital in the wake of the financial crisis. While the European economy has, for


the most part, recovered from the shock, it remains vulnerable. More efforts are going to be needed to


foster long-term investment, to protect the corporate sector against undue pressures to deliver short-term financial results, and in order to create jobs across all regions of Europe.


March 2018


The current investment gap calls for rapid and substantial redeployment of capital towards sustainable activities that shall foster employment, productivity, and the competitiveness of the EU’s economy


This imperative of sustainable finance is


nothing new; what is new is the momentum behind its implementation. The twin adoption of the 2030 Agenda


for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement in 2015-2016 has re-ignited discussions – and the impetus for action has been building since then. Most striking about this new drive, is


how many organisations and institutions are pushing together towards a single united reform agenda. The EU High-Level Expert Group on


Sustainable Finance (HLEG) is clearly an example of involving different stakeholders in financial reform. Composed of members and observers from


banking, insurance, asset management, stock exchanges, financial-industry associations, international institutions, civil society, and other perspectives, the HLEG is indeed a truly multi-stakeholder initiative, focused on concrete measures that the EU can take to align one of the world’s largest financial systems with global objectives for sustainability.


Outstanding experise As chair of the HELEF, I have benefited from outstanding support. The European Commission’s experts,


deserve our gratitude for being constantly available for insights, fact-checking and questions. It has been a pleasure to work with all


of them. I have also benefitted from many discussions with accomplished business leaders with profound convictions on sustainability. CCR


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