Word: hsbc
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...direct action and dialogue are paying off as banks begin to set green goals. HSBC has promised to cut carbon emissions, while Bank of America has pledged to shun investments in logging operations in the world's most sensitive forests. Even more important is the introduction of new industry standards, such as the Equator Principles, which "promote responsible environmental stewardship and socially responsible development" by evaluating the threats that projects pose to forests, natural habitats and indigenous populations...
Thirty major private banks, including U.S. giants Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, and European powerhouses ABN Amro, Barclays, HSBC and ING, have so far signed on to the principles. The guidelines cover some 80% of the global-project-financing market, according to Jon Williams, head of sustainability risk management at HSBC. "Everyone is interested in the balance between sustainability and economic development," says Williams. "We believe you can do well and do good...
...terms of overall lending, project financing is a small part of most banks' operations--from 5% to 10% at HSBC, for example--but lending that is environmentally and socially sound can have a huge long-term impact. Underwriters such as Citigroup point to the World Bank--backed pipeline running from Chad's oil fields through Cameroon to the Atlantic. Extensive environmental-impact assessments were carried out before the work got the green light, and oil companies like ExxonMobil have provided compensation and health care to local people whose lives and livelihoods were disrupted. A trust fund designed to give...
...terms of overall lending, project financing is a small part of most banks' operations - between 5% and 10% for HSBC, for example - but environmentally and socially sound lending can have a huge long-term impact. Underwriters such as Citigroup point to the World Bank-backed pipeline running from Chad's oil fields through Cameroon to the Atlantic. Extensive environmental impact assessments were carried out before work got the green light, and oil companies like ExxonMobil have provided compensation and health care to locals whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted by the development. A trust fund, designed to give...
...Despite these differences, banks and ngos are likely to keep working together. The reason is simple: socially and environmentally responsible investment makes good business sense. HSBC, Citigroup and ABN Amro all say that green issues are increasingly important when they consider funding global projects. In the future, "the Equator Principles will be seen as a catalyst for how banks conduct themselves in other areas of their business," says ABN Amro's Burrett. If that happens, activists in haz-mat suits will have to find another target...