Sustainable Finance Awards shortlist announced

The Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation have announced the shortlist for the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards 2012, which honour the importance of sustainability within finance and investment.

Amongst the firms in the running for an accolade are seven UK companies that were lucky enough to be selected from a list of 161 entries from 67 different countries.

In the European section of the Sustainable Bank of the Year category is The Co-operative Banking Group, which in February came second in Blue & Green Tomorrow’s top five ethical bank rundown.

The Sustainable Global Bank of the Year category includes UK-based Standard Chartered, but also, interestingly, US-based Morgan Stanley, which recently launched a values-driven investment platform to allow its customers to incorporate their morals into their portfolios.

There are two UK firms in the Sustainable Investor of the Year category – Bridges Ventures and the Environment Agency.

Meanwhile, the Sustainable Investment of the Year—a category that acknowledges a pair of companies for sustainable investment deals—has three UK firms in the running.

The full shortlist can be found below.

Sustainable Bank of the Year

Africa/Middle East

• Bank of Palestine
• BMCE Bank, Morocco
• Nedbank, South Africa

Americas

• Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Itaú Unibanco, Brazil
• Santander Brasil

Asia/Pacific

• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan
• XacBank, Mongolia
• YES Bank, India

Europe

• Bank Sarasin & Co, Switzerland
• The Co-operative Banking Group, UK
• Sekerbank, Turkey

Sustainable Global Bank of the Year

• Banco Santander, Spain
• Bank of America, USA
• BNP Paribas, France
• Citi, USA
• Crédit Agricole, France
• Credit Suisse, Switzerland
• Morgan Stanley, USA
• Standard Chartered, UK

Sustainable Investor of the Year

• Bridges Ventures, UK
• Dragon Capital Group, Vietnam
• Environment Agency, UK
• LeapFrog Investments, Australia
• SAM, Switzerland
• Storebrand, Norway
• VantagePoint Capital Partners, USA

Sustainable Investment of the Year

• CleanStar Mozambique & Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Mozambique-UK
• Embraport & Inter-American Development Bank & WestLB, Brazil-USA-Germany
• Korean Recycling Plant & ZincOx Resources, South Korea-UK
• Optima Energia & Acapulco Municipality, Mexico
• PerPETual Global & Aloe Private Equity, India-UK
• VINTE Viviendas Integrales SAPI de CV & IIF, Mexico-USA

Technology in Sustainable Finance

• Credit Suisse with Opportunity International, Switzerland
• Itaú Unibanco, Brazil
• Kilimo Salama, Kenya
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, USA
• YellowPepper, USA

“This is a very impressive list of nominees, combining institutions we know well from previous years with new names that are beginning to make a mark in this important field”, said Martin Dickson, FT deputy editor and co-chair of the judging panel for the awards.

“The quality of this year’s entries has been extremely high, including in our new categories, and the judges are looking forward to a deep and detailed examination of the short-lists over the next few weeks.”

The awards take place on June 14, and the triple-header of keynote speakers are IFC Vice President Rashad Kaldany, IFC vice president, FT editor Lionel Barber, and James Cameron, executive vice chairman of Climate Change Capital.

Blue & Green Tomorrow will be on hand to bring you all the latest news from the event, as well as covering the run-up.

In the meantime, we recommend you take a look at our Guide to Sustainable Investment, which lays out the foundations for investors who want to start making a difference with their portfolios.

Further reading:

Financial Times and IFC honour sustainable investment

Sustainable banks outperforming mainstream counterparts

Banking on ethics

The Guide to Sustainable Investment