London, June 16, 2011
—The Financial Times and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today announced the winners of the 2011 FT/IFC
Sustainable
Finance Awards, with Itau Unibanco of Brazil named as Sustainable Bank of the Year, Storebrand of Norway Sustainable Asset Owner of the Year, and Aloe Group of the UK taking the Sustainable Asset Manager prize.
The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards, the major global awards for environmentally and socially responsible banking and investment, evolved 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 2011 awards attracted a record 187 entries from 161 institutions in 61 countries.
The awards were presented at a gala dinner in London attended by nearly 200 senior decision-makers in finance and sustainability. Duncan Goose, Founder and Managing Director, Global Ethics, was keynote speaker at the dinner. The event followed a one-day Sustainable Finance Conference organized by the Financial Times and IFC.
The 2011 winners and special commendations in each category are:
Sustainable Bank of the Year
· Winner: Itau Unibanco
· Regional winner Africa/Middle East: Access Bank
· Regional winner Americas: Itau Unibanco
· Regional winner Asia/Pacific: YES Bank
· Regional winner Europe: Co-operative Financial Services
· Regional winner Cross-Regional: Bank Sarasin
Sustainable Asset Owner of the Year
· Winner: Storebrand
· Special Commendation: Environment Agency
Sustainable Asset Manager of the Year
· Winner: Aloe Group
· Special Commendation: SAM (Sustainable Asset Management)
Achievement in Basic Needs Financing
· Winner: One Acre Fund
· Special Commendation: Social Finance
Achievement in Financing at the Base of the Pyramid
· Winner: MicroEnsure
· Special Commendation: Bank of America Merrill Lynch
“We are greatly encouraged by the response to this year’s awards, which is evidence of the growing commitment among institutions across the financial industry to make sustainability a core part of their business. The quality of this year’s entries was very high and the judging panel had some difficult decisions to make,” said Martin Dickson, Deputy
Editor of the Financial Times and co-chair of the awards judging panel.
"The FT/IFC Sustainable Finance Awards highlight how financial institutions create shared value that benefits both shareholders and society," said Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO. "This year we are also recognizing how sustainable finance, notably pension funds and private equity, supports small and medium enterprises, a key source of job creation and economic growth in most countries."
The judging panel consisted 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
· Mary Ellen Iskenderian, President and CEO, Women’s World Banking
· Richard Laing, Chief Executive, CDC Group Ltd
· Herman Mulder, international sustainable development advisor
PwC was technical advisor for the program.
For further information, please contact:
Lizzie Allen, Financial Times, London, +44 (0) 20 7873 4463
Julie Ziegler, IFC, +1 (202) 473 0128
Notes to Editors:
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, January 3, 2011 to April 3, 2011) and a combined print and online average daily readership of 2.1 million people worldwide (PwC assured, November 2010). FT.com has over 3.6 million registered users and 224,000 paying digital subscribers. The newspaper, printed at 24 print sites across the globe, has a global print circulation of 362,685 (ABC, May 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
.
