ASFI August update
This month we’re pleased to welcome the newest member of the ASFI team, Purdie Bowden. Purdie will lead ASFI’s policy and government engagement work and brings significant experience working on sustainable finance and climate finance policy in the Australian Government. As well as leading ASFI’s expanding policy agenda Purdie is managing our Sustainable Finance Progress Tracker report which will be launched in October.
Planning is now well underway for ASFI’s inaugural Australian Sustainable Finance Summit, to be held in Sydney on Friday 28th October. This will provide opportunities to hear about the latest developments in sustainable finance markets, policy and regulation in Australia and internationally, provide an opportunity for networking across the finance sector and generate momentum to deliver strong, sustainable change in financial markets for the year head. Mark the date in your diaries and keep an eye for the launch email shortly. There are a few sponsorship opportunities for the Summit still available, so please get in touch with Natalie Sarau if you are interested in partnering with us. Ticket sales and program details available soon!
ASFI joined 19 other peak bodies to provide an ‘Australian voice’ submission to the ISSB and the AASB on the draft sustainability and climate standards. The submission highlighted broad support for the standards and there have been clear indications from Australian Regulators that they will form the basis for mandatory climate disclosures in Australia, one of Government’s clear priorities on sustainable finance.
ASFI progress
Taxonomy project:
EY have been appointed as the project team to implement the first phase the Taxonomy Project—scoping international taxonomy developments and recommendations on the most appropriate taxonomy framework for Australia. Emma Herd is the lead Partner for the Project.
The Taxonomy Technical Advisory Group and Taxonomy Steering Committee met in Melbourne in late July to progress the taxonomy project work.
Work is now well underway on the analysis of international taxonomy frameworks.
TNFD
The first three workshops organised by the Australian Government, which ASFI members have been participating in are now complete.
ASFI members will join other workshop participants from across the financial services and business sectors to participate a cross-industry TNFD summit on 14 September. The summit will provide an overview of TNFD Beta v0.2 Framework and facilitate a series of sessions addressing the question ‘where to from here'.
Leadership Forum:
Alongside the ASFI Australian Sustainable Finance Summit, ASFI will hold a CEO level event for ASFI Members with the Treasurer, the Hon Jim Chalmers MP. This event will demonstrate strong support for the sustainable finance agenda from senior leadership within the finance sector, unlocking significant progress on the Roadmap.
We will also be establishing a working group for ASFI members that will focus on ‘Organisational transformation for sustainability’ that share experiences and lessons between participants on the organisational structures, processes and transformation required within financial institutions to achieve sustainability outcomes. If you’re interested in finding out more about ASFI membership so you can get involved in these and other ASFI member activities, please get in touch.
Roadmap Implementation Report:
We're pleased to share we have selected a partner and currently finalising scope on on our second annual Sustainable Finance Progress Tracker. This Report will provide a snapshot of sustainable finance developments in Australia and assess progress across each of the Roadmap’s 37 recommendations. We look forward to announcing our partner for this work soon.
The Report will be launched at the ASFI Australian Sustainable Finance Summit on 28 October 2022, where we will share its findings and showcase some achievements in a dedicated panel session.
In developing the Report, we want to understand how sustainable finance objectives are being integrated in your organisation. We will be sending out a survey in the next couple of weeks and your responses will be an important data point for the Report’s findings.
Events
There are a range of upcoming ASFI events which we welcome your participation in.
24 August: co-hosted with UNGCNA join us for an informative session on the role of financial institutions in driving greater climate ambition: from divestment to active engagement. Register here.
28 October: ASFI Sustainable Finance Summit, Sydney. Save the date for this exciting event and please get in touch if you would like to discuss partnership opportunities.
Government engagement
Following the successful ASFI roundtable series with Senior Government Officials in the lead up to the federal election, we will host a series of private events for ASFI members with senior Government Ministers and officials in Canberra in early September.
ASFI is leading work with other industry bodies on a submission to the Government making the case for an Australian Government Sustainable Finance Strategy and its key elements.