“We are asking firms to consider the impact of climate change on the firm’s business strategy and risk profile,” said GFSC Director General, William Mason.
“It is designed to encourage timely thought at board level about how and when businesses will need to adapt to the extent that businesses have not already adapted to the major world economies’ commitment to net zero emission targets.”
Pictured: Sustainable Finance Week began with a five-minute video from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who fully supported the conference.
Guernsey Finance organised the event under the guise of its We Are Guernsey brand. “What has been really wonderful is how our guests, beaming in from all corners of the globe, were so excited to see that we can host a physical event here in Guernsey,” said Barnaby Molloy from Guernsey Finance.
The event included speeches from the former UK Minister for Climate and Energy, Claire O’Neill, the Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Programme, Dr Ben Caldecott, and other financial specialists and experts.
The week culminated in a focus on the insurance industry and how it’s helping to mitigate the impact of climate change.
“The challenges facing the insurance industry are very different from 5 or 10 years ago,” said Global Head of ESG, Meredith Jones.
Pictured: Cazenove Capital was the sponsor of day two of the event and saw Giles Neville speak about family officers and sustainable investing.
“What’s particularly challenging for industry is smaller scale Hurricane Katrina type events that seem to be happening with increasing frequency,” she said.
Mr Molloy from Guernsey Finance concluded, by emphasising how important the new code of conduct is for the island and its sustainable place internationally.
“A need for action has very much been the theme of the week and what was outlined at today’s event, in the updated Code of Corporate Governance, signifies just that,” he said.