Close to half (46%) of financial institutions say that they are incorporating sustainability considerations when reassessing their business models, a new study by Mazars has found.
In addition, almost all banks and insurance firms have allocated responsibility for sustainability-related matters to members of their senior management, the study noted.
Sustainability practices stocktake
Mazars’ report, Sustainability practices stocktake: how banks and insurers have progressed, incorporated insights from over 400 senior executives in banks and insurers across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
It seeks to determine ‘where financial institutions stand today in their progression towards more sustainable practices, and identifies the significant sustainability-related knowledge gaps that still exist in this sector’, Mazars said.
Other findings from the report include that financial institutions and related businesses cite socially-related sustainability issues such as employee and human rights matters as the area in which they have the most significant knowledge gaps (62%), while 60% cited knowledge gaps when it came to assessing climate risk drivers.
Credit rating information
Elsewhere, Mazars’ study discovered that 90% of respondents utilise external credit rating information to assess climate-related, environmental, and energy-related risks in counterparties.
Additionally, 53% of institutions disclose sustainability-related information alongside sustainable and ESG financial products.
‘Financial institutions have a leading role to play in shaping our sustainable future, and a strong need to reboot and shift to a more responsible finance model,’ Mazars noted. ‘As a core component of the economy, they bear the responsibility of upholding rigour and resilience in their risk management.’
You can download the report here.
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