Latin America & Caribbean

UNEP FI Signatories based in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region are included in UNEP FI’s Working Group for LAC, which comprises of more than 60 financial institutions based in the region. These financial institutions have committed to the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI) and/or the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) as well as the UNEP Statement of Commitment on Sustainable Development. The Working Group provides our members based in the LAC region with an adequate exchange platform and a forum for regional collaboration, knowledge-sharing efforts and discussions on region-specific sustainability priorities in the financial sector. UNEP FI has established a cross-sectoral network for capacity building in the region and works with a variety of supporting institutions which can be viewed in the specific country profiles section.

Governance/Representation Latin America and Caribbean:

The region is represented by the following elected members on the Global Steering Committee:

• Mauricio Velasquez (Banking 2021-23) who serves as Principal executive of the Environmental and Climate Change Department at CAF (Latin American Development Bank)
• Patricia Coimbra (Insurance 2019-21) who oversees Human Resources and acts as Sustainability Director for SulAmerica Seguros (Brazil)

LAC representatives on the Banking Board:

• Celina Pafilla Meardi, CEO of Banco Hipotecário de El Salvador (El Salvador)
• Ricardo Cuesta, CEO of Produbanco Grupo Promerica (Ecuador)

LAC representatives on the Civil Society Board:

• Annelise Vendramini, Sustainable Center at Fundacao Getulio Vargas (Brazil)

LAC representatives on the Insurance Board:

• Tomas Carmona, Head of Sustainability at SulAmérica Insurance, Life and Pension (Brazil)

SDG Fund in Suriname, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and Grenadine:

UNEP FI accords to one of the agencies presently involved in two joint projects under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Fund in the Caribbean region. The SDG fund is an innovative instrument to incentivize transformative policy shifts and stimulate the strategic investments required to get the world back on track to meet the SDGs. The joint SDG Fund hence, is an integral part of the reform of the UN’s development work by providing the “muscle” for a new generation of Resident Coordinators and UN Country Teams to accelerate SDG implementation. UNEP FI’s involvement in the region particularly includes a joint project in Suriname tailored towards the development of a National Roadmap for a Sustainable Financial System to reorient the flow of international and local resources towards more inclusive and gender responsive sustainable actions. Furthermore, UNEP FI is part of a joint programme aimed towards fostering resilient economic recovery and growth in Eastern Caribbean States (Barbados, Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) by utilising the concept of Blue Economy as a key driver.

UNEP FI Regional Activities in Latin America and Caribbean:

Regional activities are aligned with UNEP FI’s global work programme and include network-building initiatives to foster knowledge sharing, awareness-raising and engagement with relevant regional stakeholders in sustainable finance and capacity building, through workshops and online training courses.

UNEP FI’s Latin American and Caribbean regional membership agenda is based on national inputs and member feedback to establishing a long-term sustainable finance agenda. This agenda utilises the current regional context and progress achieved so far as a foundation for changing finance to finance change. Our work will build on ongoing activities and national agendas which will contribute to a country-specific approach to bring our members’ objectives to the forefront.

We are committed to continuously expand our network by mobilising financial institutions that are committed to the values of sustainable finance in the banking, insurance and investment industries. The Latin American and Caribbean Regional agenda places a strong focus on membership engagement both across industries and in various thematic workstreams. In this regard, we are seeking to increase regional interconnectivity through events in which members can communicate in person, strengthen member and network interaction, while also increasing our value proposition through the organizational incorporation of ESG issues and understanding of how future environmental and risk factors can affect portfolios.

Training and professional development:

Training activities were initiated in 2005, in Latin America when the first “Country Workshop on Environmental & Social Risk” for risk managers and analysts in corporate, investment and retail banking was held. With time UNEP FI’s training programme has grown to offer a range of tailor-made training modules on sustainable finance topics in Spanish, English and French. UNEP FI has a range of training offerings, both online and in-person workshops.

For further information on each of these products, please consult the Sustainable Finance Training section.

For upcoming events in the region, please consult the UNEP FI Events section.