Training

INCAE (International Business School), through its Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS) has developed a training program called “Sustainability as a Competitive Element for the Financial Sector” which proposes that financial institutions implement environmental and social management systems in their operations based on the objectives, guidelines, and sustainability analysis tools established in the Ecobanking Project.

The purpose of this training program is to bring financial institution employees up to date on their organizations’ relationship to the environment and social risks. Likewise, they are to be trained in best practices in relation to analysis criteria and implementation tools for environmental and social management to take concrete environmental measures in their functional areas.

Specific Objectives

• The financial institutions should gain an awareness of the deficiencies caused by not applying sustainability guidelines in their operations and the opportunities that arise for reducing operating costs and risks when they do apply them. Thus, a change in behavior would be encouraged so they would have a competitive advantage in the local and regional financial market, making it possible to integrate more readily into the international financial community.


• Environmental risks should be reduced for their projects and loans, thanks to promoting, exchanging, and identifying best practices and environmental analysis tools, contributing to improved implementation of environmentally responsible standards in the local and regional financial sector.


• The financial institutions should aim for new products, sectors, lines of credit, and programs to orient themselves toward market trends and their customers’ environmental and social needs.

Methodology

This program is developed through training workshops called:

1. Environmental and social performance in the financial sector: Risks and opportunities
2. Environmental and social risk evaluation and management in the lending and investment processes
3. Identification of potential environmental risks: Reviewing loans and collateral in a financial institution’s portfolio
4. Sustainable investments in companies and projects: analysis framework and practical experiences
5. Eco-efficiency in financial institutions
6. Design of environmental and social policies and guidelines in financial institutions.
7. Environmental strategy for client companies of financial institutions

Workshops Held:

Colombia: Advanced Training Workshop (ATW) on Identification, Evaluation and Management of Environmental and Social Risks in Lending and Investment Projects. UNEPFI / ASOBANCARIA / CECODES / FUNDACIÓN SOCIAL / ECOBANKING. September 2009. Bogota.