The National Bank of Georgia (NBG) hosted the fourth Sustainable Finance Forum on November 2. Organized in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO, and the IFC-facilitated Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN), this year’s Forum was delivered in a hybrid format with both in-person and virtual participation. 

 

The Forum brought together over 300 attendants from 55 countries across the globe, including senior representatives from EU and SBFN member countries, senior officials of central banks from different regions, local financial institutions, international organizations, private and public sector representatives, universities and other stakeholders.

 

 

Koba Gvenetadze, Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, welcomed participants in his opening remarks, highlighted the NBG’s Sustainable Finance achievements and celebrated its fifth anniversary of joining SBFN: "I am very pleased to see the growing interest towards sustainable finance. The number of countries, institutions, entities, and experts that participate in the Sustainable Finance Forum-organized by the NBG in collaboration with IFC and SBFN-increases every year. It is symbolic that the idea of developing a Sustainable Finance Roadmap for Georgia was born on the very first sustainable finance forum. And today, on the 4th sustainable finance forum, we are celebrating its successful implementation." 

 

"Addressing the climate crisis and ‘building back better’ from the COVID-19 pandemic requires sustainable national and global financial systems," said Mary Porter Peschka, Director, Sustainability and Gender Solutions at IFC. “Through its Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting and Disclosure Principles and Sustainable Finance Taxonomy, Georgia and its National Bank have laid the groundwork for the country’s sustainable finance efforts. IFC and SBFN look forward to further supporting Georgia on its journey to create a greener and resilient future for its people."

 

"Switzerland promotes globally the sustainable finance policy framework, financial instruments and preparedness of the market players,” noted Danielle Meuwly, Regional Director of Cooperation, Embassy of Switzerland in Georgia. “We are supporting the IFC Integrated Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) programme that has already achieved a remarkable success in Georgia by consolidating the sustainable finance framework of the country. In this context, we are happy to support the Sustainable Finance forum, which is yet another manifestation of a successful multilateral cooperation that includes national institutions, Sustainable Banking and Finance Network, and International Finance Corporation," she added.

 

The Sustainable Finance Forum brought together high-level representatives from all over the world to share their experience in developing sustainable finance frameworks and discuss the latest developments and challenges, with a focus on emerging countries such as Georgia, Ukraine, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Egypt, Hungary, South Africa, Columbia and others. 

The panelists talked about how emerging markets are leveraging roadmaps to support an effective shift to sustainable finance and discussed countries’ success stories. Country representatives also discussed the role of taxonomies in supporting sustainable finance, highlighted the importance of disclosure and transparency in this process as well as other sustainability topics that drive urgency in this area. Discussions revolved around private sector perspectives on the challenges and opportunities brought through sustainable finance. Participants also shared their future plans and projects. 

The NBG-IFC-SBFN Sustainable Finance Forum is an annual event that has been organized since 2018. It has become a platform for fruitful discussions with different stakeholders on the development of sustainable finance in Georgia and other emerging markets. The Forum will continue to serve as a platform for sharing the latest global trends and collective experiences of 62 member countries of the SBFN.