Sustainable and Responsible Finance
A strong lever for promoting more responsible development is sustainable finance, i.e. that whose products and investment decisions take into account environmental, social and corporate governance factors. This is an issue to which the European Union has devoted special attention in recent years starting, for example, with the introduction of a classification system – the Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities – intended to provide companies and investors with a certain and common definition of activities that can be considered sustainable.
Making non-financial information (particularly that related to the social benefits produced) more transparent, developing official standards, and fostering the integration of ESG factors into governance to improve understanding and management of climate and environmental risks are some of the goals pursued. This work is also important to increase market transparency and facilitate the mobilization of private resources to finance sustainable growth.
To better understand the evolution of this complex sector, Soft&Green interviewed Francesco Bicciato, Director of the Forum for Sustainable Finance, an Italian association that has been advocating the need to include environmental, social and governance criteria in financial products and processes for years.
The reflection continues with some data on the growth of sustainable investments, the need to improve people’s level of financial literacy, and the role of both businesses and individual citizens who choose to invest more responsibly than in the past.
About The Sofidel Group
The Sofidel Group, a privately held company owned by the Stefani and Lazzareschi families, is a world leader in the manufacture of paper for hygienic and domestic use. Founded in 1966, the Group has subsidiaries in 12 countries – Italy, Spain, the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Greece, Romania, and the USA - with more than 6,400 employees. A member of the UN Global Compact and the international WWF Climate Savers program, the Sofidel Group considers sustainability a strategic imperative and is committed to promoting sustainable development. For more information, visit www.sofidel.com.
Media Contact:
Fabio Vitali
Fabio.Vitali@sofidel.com
www.sofidel.com
