The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, the major global awards for environmentally and socially responsible banking and investment, have attracted a record 187 entries from 161 institutions in 61 countries.
The strong number of entries reflect the major shifts taking place across the banking and investment community, as a response to growing pressure to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into all levels of decision-making, from risk management and product design to actual investing and financing.
The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards evolve out of the FT Sustainable Banking Awards, which over five years established themselves as the world’s leading awards for banks and other institutions focused on sustainable development. The previous record for entries was achieved in 2008, when 182 submissions were received from 129 institutions in 54 countries.
This year’s entries were received in five categories: Sustainable Bank of the Year, Sustainable Asset Owner of the Year, Sustainable Asset Manager of the Year, Achievement in Basic Needs Financing, and Achievement in Financing at the Base of the Pyramid.
Short-lists will be announced for each category in early May 2011. The winners will be announced and the awards presented on June 16, 2011 at a gala dinner at the Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel in London.
The dinner will conclude the 2011 FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Conference, a major one-day summit that will gather on June 16, 2011 some of the world’s most renowned visionaries, strategists and financial decision makers.
“We are delighted to see such a strong response to this newly re-designed awards programme,” said Martin Dickson, FT Deputy Editor and Co-Chair of the awards judging panel. “It is further evidence of how many banks, investment houses and other financial institutions around the world are transforming their business to address some of the key concerns of our time.”
Rachel Kyte, IFC Vice President, Business Advisory Services commented:
“The record number and variety of this year’s submissions demonstrate the increasing global reach and influence of the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards. IFC is encouraged by the growing number of financial institutions that recognize that their business cannot operate outside the context of the sustainability challenges we are facing across the world.”
The awards judging panel consists of:
- Martin Dickson, Deputy Editor, Financial Times (co-chair)
- Rachel Kyte, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, IFC (co-chair)
- Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
- David Harris, Head, Responsible Investment, FTSE Group
- Richard Laing, Chief Executive, CDC Group Ltd
- Herman Mulder, International Sustainable Development Advisor
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is technical advisor for the programme.
For the full list of participating institutions for the 2011 FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards please click here. For more information, including registration for the Sustainable Finance Conference and Awards dinner, please go to www.ftconferences.com/sustainablefinance.
- Ends -
For further information, please contact:
Harriet Mallinson, Financial Times, London
+44 (0) 20 7873 3882
Harriet.Mallinson@ft.com
Lizzie Allen, Financial Times, London
+44 (0) 20 7873 4463
lizzie.allen@ft.com
John Philip McNally, IFC
+1 (202) 458 0723
JMcnally@ifc.org
About the Financial Times
The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 605,402 (Deloitte assured, 3 January 2011 to 3 April 2011) and a combined print and online average daily readership of 2.1 million people worldwide (PwC assured, November 2010). FT.com has over 3.4 million registered users and 224,000 paying digital subscribers. The newspaper, printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 381,659 (ABC figures March 2011).
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. We create opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We do so by providing financing to help businesses employ more people and supply essential services, by mobilizing capital from others, and by delivering advisory services to ensure sustainable development. In a time of global economic uncertainty, our new investments climbed to a record $18 billion in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.ifc.org