The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative has released a briefing paper on bank contribution that clarifies how banks can support sustainability and sustainable development and how that contribution can be measured and assessed. Published during the 2026 Financing for Development Forum in New York, the paper says banks’ main sustainability impacts are largely indirect and arise through the activities they finance, so assessment frameworks should reflect the specific nature of banking. Its core messages are that banks act primarily as enablers, that expectations and measurement approaches need to be bank-specific, and that progress beyond 2030 will require a stronger sector-specific focus on private actors including banks. UNEP FI also published a Bank Indicator Repository that compiles bank-specific sustainability and impact management indicators across climate change, nature and biodiversity, circular economy, gender, human rights, financial health and financial inclusion, with indicators mapped to the Sustainable Development Goals and organized by sustainability issue.
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative2026-05-11
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative releases bank contribution paper and indicator repository for sustainability assessment
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative has issued a briefing paper clarifying how banks can support and measure their contribution to sustainability, emphasizing that banks act primarily as enablers and that their main impacts arise indirectly through financed activities. The paper calls for bank-specific expectations and assessment frameworks and highlights the need for a stronger sector-specific focus on private actors beyond 2030. UNEP FI also launched a Bank Indicator Repository of sustainability and impact management indicators mapped to the Sustainable Development Goals.