Mission

Improve the Latin American financial sector’s competitiveness by researching, publishing, and training in the best international practices for implementing environmental and social guidelines in their own financial institutions’ activities, contributing to better environmental management, environmental and social risk reduction, and by designing innovative financial products.

Background

In its studies on environmental performance and entrepreneurial competitiveness, CLACDS – Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development - has tried to delimit the economic sectors that may have the most critical impact on Latin American economic progress through productivity-based competitiveness with high environmental performance. The financial sector is noteworthy.

To be up to the competitive efforts that Latin American economies undertake in the context of current economic globalization and business opening, the region’s financial sector must have in-depth knowledge of the real challenges and opportunities companies in Latin America and the Caribbean face in international markets. This is the only way it can be truly useful and relevant to their success. This is also the only way to offer them the financial support they need to improve their international competitiveness.

One of the more important challenges that the Latin American financial sector is facing is learning the environmental practices leading international banks are incorporating into their business operations in response to the growing importance of environmental concerns in international trade.

The financial sector’s crucial importance in the relationship between the environment, competitiveness, and sustainable development led CLACDS to open up a line of research and strategic proposals in this field.

In 2000, Mr. Lawrence Pratt and Mr. Edgar Rojas (CLACDS) took the leadership in adapting the UNEP sustainability guidelines, to design the Ecoefficiency Guide to Banking Services.

After a period of ground research, Mr. Pratt and Mr. Rojas with the support of Mr. Demetrio Polo-Cheva, started in 2000, a project on finances and the environment, entitled the “Ecobanking Project.”

Since then, the Ecobanking Project has been established as a joint initiative of the INCAE’s Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development – CLACDS; Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung GMBH - InWent (Germany), through Mr. Demetrio Polo-Cheva; the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI); and the AVINA Group, which supported financially the creation and development of the project during its first 3 years.

Likewise, the project’s purpose would be to support the Latin American financial sector in keeping current on the practices of major international banks in dealing with environmental issues. They would be aided in assimilating analysis criteria and the world’s most advanced operating instruments in order to incorporate an environmental perspective in their diverse functional areas.  This way, the sector should be able to increase its ability to create value for its customers and the countries in Latin America based on taking greater advantage of the big business opportunities that will open up when they achieve proper integration of environmental and financial aspects.