In November 2019, Commerzbank signed the Green Investment Principles (GIP) for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The GIP aims to incorporate low-carbon and sustainable development into projects in BRI countries, which represent approximately 40% of the World’s total land area and 55% of total CO2 emissions.
Commerzbank settles more than 30% of Germany’s foreign trade business and supports its corporate and institutional clients along the Belt and Road Initiative. The Green Investment Principles serve as a framework to promote green investment. The scale of BRI calls for significant emphasis on ensuring institutions work together to find ways to maximise the implementation of green, low-carbon and climate-resilience investment across the numerous vast and smaller projects alike.
It was jointly developed by China’s Green Finance Committee and the City of London Corporation‘s Green Finance Initiative, in partnership with several other international institutions including the Belt and Road Bankers Roundtable, International Finance Corporation, World Economic Forum and Paulson Institute. 33 financial institutions have signed up to the GIP until November 2019.
The seven principles are:
- Embedding sustainability into corporate governance
- Understanding Environmental, Social and Governance Risks
- Disclosing environmental information
- Enhancing communication with stakeholders
- Utilizing green financial instruments
- Adopting green supply chain management
- Building capacity through collective action
