Finance for Tomorrow driving change towards sustainable finance

Finance for Tomorrow: an Institution Rooted in the Paris COP 

In 2015, over the course of  two weeks, Paris became the world headquarters for climate and sustainability discussions by hosting  the 21st Conference of the UN Parties (COP). The Paris agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were created during this summit highlight the key role that  finance can play to reduce carbon emissions and to set out a sustainable path for the future.

As a follow up to the event, the “Green & Sustainable Finance” was created and was renamed "Finance for Tomorrow" in June 2017 when it became a branch of Paris EUROPLACE. Its objectives are to mobilise financial players, innovate through responsible practices,  participate in the reorientation of the financial flow towards sustainable projects, and ultimately make the Paris Financial Centre an internationally-recognised expert centre for sustainable finance.

A Multi-Domain Entity Focused on the Creation and Sharing of Nnew Financial Initiatives

To reach the ambitious goals described, different working groups (WG) and commissions have been created:

• WG - Biodiversity & Natural Capital: to share initiatives and create new knowledge on biodiversity financing tools
• WG - Education, ESG skills & Research: to enlarge the training possibilities on sustainable finance and to reinforce relations between the professional world and academics
• WG - Just and Inclusive Transition: to support the creation of innovative initiatives aiming to mobilise a large spectrum of players
• WG - Paris Financial Centre Impact Task Force: to define and disseminate the concept of impact finance* and its relationship with existing regulations
• Policy Commission: To analyse the evolution of regulations and their practical implementation, and to help financial actors gain access to relevant information

* The definition of impact finance is still being defined but the conceptual idea goes beyond ESG, as its ambition is not only to prevent harm but also to produce a positive impact on common goods. Impact finance is based on three major pillars: intentionality, additionality, and measurability.

Finance for Tomorrow Initiatives

Finance for Tomorrow is also at the origin of different initiatives:

1. The Climate Finance Day, an international event that gathers financial actors in Paris. This year's edition which will be held on 27 October 2022 will focus on reporting actions implemented since 2015 and present action plans for the years to come. A perfect way to measure the efforts and the actions to come at the halfway point between 2015 and 2030.
2. The FinTech for Tomorrow Challenge that rewards FinTechs that contribute to accelerating the financing of the energy and ecological transition.
3. The Coalition of Investors for a Just Transition, an initiative that aims to promote the Just Transition* into the strategies of companies while bridging the gap between corporates and investors.
4. The Sustainable Finance Observatory, a database that proposes data from French financial institutions, covering more than 80% of French assets. It includes data about the transformation of financial practices and flows (e.g. coal phase-out, transition to a low-carbon economy) and commitments of financial institutions (e.g. climate and biodiversity risk assessment, shareholder engagement).

*The concept of Just Transition has two objectives: (i) to minimise the negative social impacts of a transition to sustainable economic models, for example, the loss of jobs in industrial areas in need of conversion; (ii) to maximise the positive aspects of such a transition.

Finance for Tomorrow and Greenomy

The first encounter between Finance for Tomorrow and Greenomy was when Greenomy was awarded the prize as “International Laureate” of the 2020 edition of the FinTech for Tomorrow Challenge.

This result highlights the fact that Finance for Tomorrow and Greenomy share similar goals: the reorientation of financial flows towards sustainable activities, and a strong will to link together all sustainable finance stakeholders. 

Additionally, they complement each other in different ways. Greenomy benefits from the numerous experts regularly invited during Policy Commissions to stay up-to-date regarding the sustainable finance legislations (SFDR, CSRD) and to get original or disruptive opinions (even adverse) on the current regulatory framework. 

Finance for Tomorrow also benefits from the practical feedback from financial and non-financial corporates making their regulatory reporting exercise or the insights into company-issued data, complementary to the Sustainable Finance Observatory, that Greenomy can provide.

About Greenomy

Greenomy advocates with international thought leaders and standard setters to keep track of critical developments in global sustainable finance, and to contribute our expertise towards ‘greening up' the economy on a global scale. For more information on the international working groups that we advocate with, check out our vision.