LONDON, June 14, 2012
: The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the winners of the 2012 FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, with Bridges Ventures of the UK winning the Award for Excellence in Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered named as Global Sustainable Bank of the Year, and Kilimo Salama of Kenya taking the prize for Technology in Sustainable Finance.
The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, the major global awards for environmentally and socially responsible banking and investment, now in their seventh year, have established themselves as the world’s leading awards for banks and other institutions focused on sustainable development. The 2012 Awards attracted 161 entries from 145 financial institutions and 36 non-financial groups in 67 countries.
The awards were presented at a gala dinner in London attended by around 200 senior decision-makers in finance and sustainability. Baroness Susan Greenfield, Scientist, Writer and Broadcaster, was keynote speaker at the dinner. The event followed a one-day Sustainable Finance Conference organised by the Financial Times and IFC.
The 2012 winners and special commendations in each category are:
Sustainable Bank of the Year
· Regional winner Africa/Middle East: Nedbank, South Africa
· Regional winner Americas: Itaú Unibanco, Brazil
· Regional winner Asia/Pacific: YES Bank, India
· Regional winner Europe: Co-Operative Banking Group, UK
· Sustainable Global Bank of the Year
o Winner: Standard Chartered, UK
o Special Commendation: Credit Suisse, Switzerland
Sustainable Investor of the Year
· Joint winners: Bridges Ventures, UK, and SAM, Switzerland
· Special Commendation: LeapFrog Investments, Australia
Sustainable Investment of the Year
· Winner: PerPETual Global & Aloe Private Equity, India-UK
· Special Commendation: CleanStar Mozambique & Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Mozambique-UK
Award for Technology in Sustainable Finance
· Winner: Kilimo Salama, Kenya
· Special Commendation: Yellow Pepper, USA
Special Commendation for Emerging Regional Influence
· Banco de Galicia y Buenos Aires, Argentina
Award for Excellence in Sustainable Finance
· Winner: Bridges Ventures, UK
“The winners of this year’s Awards should be congratulated as they stand out from a very strong group of financial institutions that are leading the way on making environmental and social considerations a major part of their business. We were particularly impressed with the range of projects short-listed, notably the rapid development of mobile phone applications that are changing the lives of billions in the poorest parts of the world,” said Martin Dickson, Deputy Editor of the Financial Times and co-chair of the awards judging panel.
"The winners of the FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards demonstrate that environmental, social, and governance standards are good business and good for the bottom line,” Nena Stoiljkovic, IFC Vice President, Business Advisory Services, said. “The expansion of categories helped us attract an even more diverse pool of candidates in 2012. More companies, as well as financial institutions, are adopting sustainable standards, and this year's applicants are a sample of a growing trend that deserves recognition.”
The judging panel consisted of:
· Martin Dickson, Deputy Editor, Financial Times (co-chair)
· Nena Stoiljkovic, Vice President, Business Advisory Services, IFC (co-chair)
· James Gifford, Executive Director, UN PRI
· David Harris, Head, Responsible Investment, FTSE Group
· Mary-Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
· Chris Locke, Managing Director, GSMA Development Fund
· Herman Mulder, International Sustainable Development Advisor
PwC was technical advisor for the programme.
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 over 600,000 (Deloitte assured, 2 January 2012 – 1 April 2012) and a combined print and online average daily readership of 2.2 million people worldwide (PwC assured, November 2011). FT.com has more than 4.5 million registered users and 285,475 paying digital subscribers. The newspaper, printed at 21 print sites across the globe, has a global print circulation of 319,381 (ABC, March 2012).
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
.
