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6 August 2020

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries is proud to become a signatory to the Green Finance Education Charter (GFEC). Actuaries have a key role to play in promoting an understanding of climate risk and of the importance of Green Finance, particularly as we look to it as a means of rebuilding the economy post the Covid-19 crisis. We consider the Charter to be a useful tool in helping us to empower our members to fulfil this role. Now is the time for all actuaries, whichever field they are working in, to play their part.

The Charter was developed by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), HM Treasury and the Green Finance Institute and is intended to act as a tool for focusing collaboration between government and industry. The Charter was announced in the UK’s Green Finance Strategy in July 2019 and is a significant commitment from Chartered and professional bodies in the UK and internationally to integrate green finance and sustainability into their core curricula, new qualifications, and the continued professional development of their members.

By signing the Charter the IFoA undertakes to integrate green finance into our work and to engage and educate our members. The IFoA was joined in signing the Charter with 11 other professional bodies in the financial sector. The launch of the Charter forms an important part of the UK Government’s ‘Pathway to COP26’, a series of events leading up to the global climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021.

By the end of this year, the IFoA commits to:

  • Engage members on issues related to climate change and environmental issues, with the aim of raising their profile within the actuarial profession;
  • Curate, develop and promote relevant resources to members on green and sustainable finance;
  • Encourage the adoption of relevant global and national standards, frameworks and guidance, including the Principles for Responsible Investment, Banking and Insurance and the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

On an ongoing basis the IFoA commits to:

  • Engage with policymakers, regulators, researchers and practitioners to identify and promote impactful and effective best practices in green and sustainable finance, and support national strategies;
  • Collaborate with signatories to the Charter, and with other domestic and international counterparts to enhance and promote the integration of green and sustainable finance into academic and professional programmes of education and training;
  • Work with the Green Finance Institute to engage employers and encourage commitment to and take up of green and sustainable finance programmes of initial and continuing professional development;
  • Report annually on progress in mainstreaming the principles and practice of green and sustainable finance.

I’m pleased to say we are already making progress on our commitments this year through initiatives such as our climate risk webinar which included presentations from representatives from BEIS and the publication of A user guide to climate-related financial disclosures. The guide, which was published jointly with the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA), helps users to understand and probe climate-related financial disclosures that have been prepared in line with the recommendations of the TFCD. The IFoA will be supported in meeting ongoing commitments through the work of its Resource and Environment Board.

The IFoA joins the following organisations in signing the Charter:

Committed professionals, with an understanding of the critical role of financial services to support the transition to a low-carbon world are vital. I would encourage other financial services professional bodies interested in signing up to the Green Finance Education Charter to contact the Chartered Banker Institute:  info@charteredbanker.com

 

Contact Details

For further information about IFoA’s work on Green Finance please contact us on: policy@actuaries.org.uk