Geneva, 27 April 2010
The largest partnership between the United
Nations and the financial services sector
has elected two new Co-Chairs to steer the
initiative in the run up to the landmark
UN "Rio+20" Summit in May 2012.
Barbara Krumsiek, CEO
of the Washington D.C headquartered Calvert
Group Ltd, and Richard Burrett, a partner
in the London-based Earth Capital Partners,
will steer the United Nations Environment
programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) for
the next two years (see Editor's notes for
more on the Co-Chairs). UNEP FI, an 18-year-old
partnership between UNEP and the financial
services sector, includes 190 banks, insurers
and investment organizations in its worldwide
membership.
The United Nation's
"Rio+20" summit will convene in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, twenty years after
the original 1992 Rio Earth Summit when
world leaders gathered for the first time
to discuss environmental and development
issues. UNEP FI was formed to provide input
to the 1992 summit. The role of finance
and capital markets will be central to the
Green Economy theme of Rio+20.
"As the economy
and the financial sector begin to recover,
we have both an opportunity and obligation
to build sustainability into the way global
financial companies do business," explained
Krumsiek. "The challenges finance and
investment face on the road to the Rio+20
Summit are considerable. It is a critical
time to work for progress and develop the
means to deal with the next crisis which
may very well be a natural resources crisis"
she added.
Richard Burrett added:
"UNEP FI has for many years worked
on developing the understanding of environmental,
social and governance issues by financial
institutions and the risks and opportunities
emerging from them. The challenge remains
acute. I am excited at the chance to play
a greater role in pushing this critical
work forward and, importantly, to work with
Barbara to steer UNEP FI on the road to
the Rio+20 Summit."
'Barbara and Richard
have long been at the forefront of promoting
sustainability at their own firms and, through
their firms' sustainable investment criteria
and advocacy among the world's leading
companies,' said Paul Clements Hunt, UNEP
FI's Head of Unit. 'We look forward to drawing
on their deep knowledge, strong commitment
and extensive network of contacts, as we
take this initiative forward.'
Notes to Editors:
About Barbara Krumsiek:
Barbara J. Krumsiek
has been Chair, CEO and President of Calvert
Group, Ltd. since 1997. Under her leadership,
the firm has grown to become a leading investment
management firm with over $14 billion in
assets in over 50 portfolios, including
award-winning fixed income portfolios and
a full family of sustainable and responsible
equity mutual funds. Ms. Krumsiek is Director
and Chair of Acacia Life Insurance Company.
Calvert and Acacia Life are affiliates of
UNIFI, a mutual holding company based in
Lincoln, Nebraska. Calvert has been involved
with UNEP FI since 2003. Paul Hilton, Calvert's
Director for Sustainable Investment Business
Strategy, has served on UNEP FI's Steering
Committee between 2007-2009 as Treasurer.
Calvert was a founding participant of the
UN Global Compact and is fully committed
to its 10 universally accepted principles
in the areas of human rights, labour, the
environment, and anti-corruption. In April
2006, Calvert helped create the Principles
for Responsible Investment, a joint initiative
between UNEP FI and the Global Compact,
which encourages institutional investors
to integrate environmental, social and governance
factors into their investment process.
About Richard Burrett:
Richard Burrett is a
Partner at Earth Capital Partners a company
specialising in providing advice on investments
that address the challenges of sustainable
development. Richard had previously spent
over 25 years in international banking.
In his 20 years with ABN AMRO he developed
extensive experience of project and structured
finance, particularly in the energy and
infrastructure sectors, working internationally
with a wide range of international project
developers, energy companies and utilities.
As Global Head of Project Finance he was
responsible for ABN AMRO's award winning
business franchises in Europe, Asia, Australia,
North America and Brazil. In this role he
was also instrumental in the creation of
the Equator Principles, a market recognised
standard for managing environmental and
social risk issues in project financing.
Latterly, as Global Head of Sustainability,
he chaired the group's Sustainability Council
and developed the bank's strategy on climate
change and the carbon markets. Previously
Burret served as the Chair of UNEP FI's
Work Stream on Biodiversity and Ecosystems.
He is also a Senior Associate at the University
of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability
Leadership; a Board Member of Forest Renewables
looking to develop the renewable energy
potential of the national forest estate
of Scotland; and a Board Member of Forest
Trends a Washington based not for profit
organisation focused on market-based approached
to conservation.
UNEP FI
The United Nations Environment
Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is
a global partnership between the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
the financial sector. Over 180 institutions,
including banks, insurers, fund managers
and investors, work with UNEP to understand
the impacts of environmental and social
considerations on financial performance.
The Initiative is governed by a Steering
Committee, which sets its strategic direction.
