2022 marks 50 years of environmental action through UNEP, 30 years of finance sector transformation through our work, and 10 years of the insurance industry transformation through the Principles for Sustainable Insurance.

As we celebrate UNEP FI’s 30th Anniversary, it is a time not just to look back at what we have achieved, but to look forward to tackling the challenges that remain, and how we put our commitments into action. Science has unfolded the scale of the triple planetary crisis, the crisis of climate change; the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss; and the crisis of pollution and waste.  The last three decades have also seen the highest increase in emissions in human history, and the next decade cannot follow the same pattern if we are to hold global warming this century to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We are living in a perfect storm, and we need to act now.

UNEP FI has been busy at work, playing an integral role in transforming finance and accelerating change. The work our members have put in, the institutions we have built and the initiatives we have supported, have catalysed new thinking, developed innovative concepts, and profoundly changed the world of finance. From pursuing innovative solutions to climate change, addressing nature and biodiversity risks, changing the way we think about impact, driving net-zero ambition across investment, banking, and insurance, UNEP FI has brought environmental concerns to the forefront of financial decision-making.

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Over its thirty-year history, UNEP FI is proud to have worked with finance leaders to establish some of the most important sustainability-oriented frameworks within the industry, including the Principles for Responsible Investment (2006), the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (2012) and the Principles for Responsible Banking (2019). Today, as environmental and social issues heighten risks to environmental, social and economic stability, the UNEP FI member community is acting to drive change across financial institutions and financial systems.

UNEP FI is an important supporter of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) – specifically, UNEP FI convenes three of the largest GFANZ initiatives, including the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (2019), Net-Zero Banking Alliance (2021) and the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (2021). The need to deliver on pledges for a net-zero global emissions economy by 2050 is more urgent than ever, and the role of the financial industry is more important than ever.

UNEP FI also convenes financial institutions to advance knowledge and practice in areas including climate, nature, pollution & circular economy, the SDGs & impact and social issues. Explore our history, initiatives and celebrations using the menu below:

 

Find out more about the evolution of sustainable finance and UNEP FI’s role in that journey by navigating our interactive timeline here.