The Corporate Forum on Sustainable Finance gets involved

November 6th, 2020

Almost two years after its launch at the beginning of 2019, the 22 European companies participating in the Corporate Forum on Sustainable Finance (CFSF) as part of their commitment to the sustainability transition are taking stock of the progress they have made and of the growth of the sustainable finance market, which represents over US$1,000bn in sustainable bond issues worldwide. Current health and economic challenges have reinforced their conviction that finance has a crucial role to play in supporting projects that make a positive social and environmental impact.  

With over €90bn outstanding at the end of October 2020, the members of the Corporate Forum, emanating from eight countries and five business sectors, including energy, utility, transport, real estate, and waste and wastewater recycling, account for nearly two third of European sustainable bond issues.

As a platform for discussion and debate between issuers, the Forum aims to speak with a single voice on six ambitious sustainable finance commitments:

  • To integrate the concept of sustainability more deeply into companies’ financial strategies;
  • To work with investors to spur the development of a more sustainable economy through innovative financing instruments;
  • To increase corporate presence in international and national forums shaping the development of sustainable finance markets;
  • To actively participate in setting the standards and regulatory frameworks that govern sustainable finance instruments;
  • To liaise with rating agencies about more deeply integrating ESG criteria into the assessment of companies’ long-term financial sustainability ;
  • To leverage expertise and promote best practices on reporting the impact of strategies implemented.

What has been accomplished over the past two years?

The CFSF responded to seven consultations held by the European Union over the past two years on: EU Taxonomy, EU Green Bond Standard, EU Climate Benchmarks and Benchmarks’ ESG disclosure, EU Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy and EU Review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive. The joint responses of the Forum’s members fed into the final drafts of the reports resulting from these consultations, particularly in the “eligible expenses” section of the “EU Green Bond Standard”. They also published a position paper on eligibility criteria for electricity grid investment.

In addition, in view of the annual funding requirement for the sustainability transition, estimated at nearly €260bn by the European Commission in January 2020, and the need to propose a European taxonomy to ensure the proper allocation of financial resources, the Corporate Forum members contributed to the work as follows:

  • By proposing public feedback on the usability of the taxonomy (usefulness, key points on compatibility with other standards, risk of distortion of competition between member states).
  • By commenting individually on the taxonomies for their respective sectors of activity.

In 2019, the Corporate Forum also initiated a dialogue with the main credit rating agencies (S&P, Moody’s and Fitch) on their methods for integrating ESG issues into their credit ratings. In 2020, the dialogue continued with rating agencies such as MSCI, V.E (Vigeo Eiris) and Sustainalytics, as well as with Principles for Responsible Investment, a UN-supported international network of investors.

The Group has also paid particular attention to the development of new instruments enabling the development of the sustainable finance market (sustainability-linked bonds, social bonds, transition bonds, etc.).

In the context of the current health and economic crisis, members of the Corporate Forum remain mobilized to get involved and share their common positions on sustainable finance with both regulatory authorities and investors.

Press contacts

A2A

Giuseppe Mariano

ufficiostampa@a2a.eu

+39 0277204583

ADIF

Jose Luís Ruiz

jlruizc@adif.es

+34 917744126

+34 620879688

EDF

 

service-de-presse@edf.fr

+33 (0) 1 40 42 46 37

EDP

Helena Coelho

helena.coelho@edp.com

+351 917065351

Enel

Oana Gherasim

gnm@enel.com

+39 320 551 4557

Engie

 

engiepress@engie.com

+33 (0)1 44 22 24 35

Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane

Luigi Cipriani (Press)

Lorenza Di Cintio (DCM)

l.cipriani@fsitaliane.it

l.dicintio@fsitaliane.it

+39 3371489198

+39 3299816582

Iberdrola

 

comunicacioncorporativa@iberdrola.es

+34 91 784 32 32

Icade

Charlotte Pajaud-Blanchard

Anne-Sophie Lanaute

charlotte.pajaud-blanchard@icade.fr

anne-sophie.lanaute@icade.fr

+33 (0)1 41 57 71 19

+33 (0) 1 41 57 70 29 

IREN

Francesco Castellone                   

Paolo Bartolomeo Colombo

Francesco.castellone@gruppoiren.it

PaoloBartolomeo.Colombo@gruppoiren.it                                                    

+39 0522 297411

+39 011 5549175

Orsted

Ulrik Frøhlke

ulrfr@orsted.dk

+45 99559560

RATP Group

Alexandre Gallet    

alexandre.gallet@ratp.fr

+33 1 58 78 37 37

RENEWI

 

communications@renewi.com

+44 (0)203 727 1340

Snam

Davide Ciullo               

davide.ciullo@snam.it

+39 0237037273

SNCF

 

servicedepresse@sncf.fr 

+33 (0)1 85 07 89 89

Société du Grand Paris

Jérémy Huppenoire

Guy-Arnaud Behiri

jeremy.huppenoire@societedugrandparis.fr

guyarnaud.behiri@societedugrandparis.fr

+33 6 34 47 16 18

+33 6 98 82 79 40

SSE

Lee-Ann Fullerton

lee-ann.fullerton@sse.com

+44(0)3450760530

TenneT

Eefje van Gorp

Eefje.van.gorp@tennet.eu

+31620220873

Terna

Edoardo Maria Massimi

edoardo.massimi@terna.it

+39 06 8313 8633

Thames Water

 

pressoffice@thameswater.co.uk

+44 20 3577 4364

Tideway

Natalie Wheble

Natalie.Wheble@tideway.london

+44 7789228900

Vasakronan

Rebecca Thorell

Rebecca.Liljebladh-Thorell@vasakronan.se

+46 72-222 15 09


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