ASFI Newsletter – October
Last week on Gadigal Country (Sydney) we hosted the Australian Sustainable Finance Summit, bringing together experts, leaders, and changemakers dedicated to advancing sustainable finance. This year’s theme, ‘Catalysing Ambition into Action’, set the tone for a day packed with rich discussions, innovative ideas, and bold visions for shaping Australia’s sustainable finance future.
We’re excited to keep these conversations going throughout the year and look forward to seeing you at our next Summit on July 30, 2025.
Read on for:
Highlights from our 2024 Summit
ASFI launches second Australian taxonomy public consultation
Reflections from the Global Nature Positive Summit
ASFI 2024 Work Program
Australian Sustainable Finance Summit
At our 2024 Australian Sustainable Finance Summit on October 31, we explored actionable steps needed to achieve our sustainability goals, unpacked practical examples, and gained global insights into leading practice.
Image L-R: Kristy Graham (CEO, ASFI) and Minister for the Environment and Water, Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP
Highlights included a keynote address by Colin le Duc (Founding Partner, Generation Investment Management) urging ambitious action, powerful insights from Te Pūoho Katene (Kaihautū - Chief Executive Officer, Tapuwae Roa) on what can be achieved when First Nations communities have control of their economic futures and Professor Durreen Shahnaz’s keynote address on the power of blended finance solutions.
We were also joined by Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP for a conversation on the need for Australian leadership in driving nature-positive outcomes. Read our Summit blog →
Australian Taxonomy
ASFI has launched second and final round of public consultation on the development of an Australian sustainable finance taxonomy.In the second round of public consultation, ASFI is seeking feedback on:
The climate change mitigation criteria for all six priority sectors for development;
a Do No Significant Harm framework;
minimum social safeguards; and
ways in which the taxonomy can be used.
This round of public consultation runs from 9:00am Wednesday 30 October 2024 until 11:59pm Sunday 1 December Learn more and provide feedback →
Join our webinar launching the public consultation next Monday 11 November from 11:00am-12:00pm AEDT. Register Now →
Natural Capital
In the last month, there has been considerable activity to accelerate cross-sector efforts to address nature loss. The first Global Nature Positive Summit brought together representatives from government, industry, finance, research, First Nations communities and civil society. Read our insights →
During the Summit, ASFI was pleased to join the Nature Positive Matters network alongside leading Australian businesses, and we also hosted a roundtable with global and Australian investors and banks to share views on how to shift capital towards nature positive.
Sustainable Finance Action Plan
We’ve been working closely with a range of stakeholders to inform development of a three-year Sustainable Finance Action Plan, designed to prioritise key actions for realising the vision outlined in the Australian Sustainable Finance Roadmap. Thank you to everyone who contributed via our public survey or participated in our working sessions in October, including as part of our ‘Unconference’ session at last week’s Summit. The final Action Plan is set to launch in early 2025.
