Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:48:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Raissa Barbosa Moura Modesto.pdf: 712570 bytes, checksum: 9ffd5a011c17440bf913caca904068d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-31 / The objective of this research is to verify the implementation of the Equator Principles in Brazil and the Madeira River Complex project, considering only the Santo Antonio Plant. First, we discuss the concept of the Equator Principles; the institutions that developed them; their certification mechanism. It describes its evolution in Brazil, its validity as a tool to mitigate the financial risks of banks and, finally, why Brazilian banks have joined this initiative. Subsequently, we will discuss the energy sector, contextualizing the scenario and the trade-off between power generation and environment. We will do a historical of the Madeira River Complex project, specifically the Santo Antonio Plant, where it is located. Furthermore, we will present the potential benefits and costs in Brazilian economy. Finally, we will make an assessment of the Santo Antonio Plant of the light of the Equator Principles, in other words, we will relate the principles with the plant and its potential economic, social and environmental impacts, both for financial institutions, as for Brazilian society / O objetivo dessa pesquisa é verificar a aplicação dos Princípios do Equador no financiamento do projeto do Complexo do Rio Madeira, considerando apenas a Usina Santo Antônio. Primeiramente, analisa-se o conceito dos Princípios do Equador; as instituições que os conceberam e o mecanismo de certificação. Descreve-se sua evolução no Brasil; sua validade como instrumento para mitigar os riscos financeiros dos bancos e, finalmente, o porquê dos bancos brasileiros terem aderido a essa iniciativa. Na sequência, discorre-se sobre o setor energético, contextualizando o seu cenário, bem como o trade-off existente entre a geração de energia e o meio-ambiente. Apresentase um histórico do projeto do Complexo Rio Madeira, especificamente da Usina Santo Antônio, onde se localiza. Ademais, discute-se os potenciais benefícios e custos para a economia brasileira. Por fim, avalia-se a obra da Usina de Santo Antônio sob a luz dos Princípios do Equador, ou seja, relacionando os princípios com esta usina e seus potenciais riscos econômicos, sociais e ambientais, tanto para as instituições financeiras, como para a sociedade brasileira

This paper investigated the evolution of Green Credit policy in China and the progress of its implementation by Chinese banks. Confronted with increasing degradation of the environment and the poor energy and resource efficiency in China, Chinese government introduced the Green Credit policy in 2007 to tackle these problems by adopting market-based mechanisms to channel capital to energy-saving and environmental protection companies and projects while curbing credit loans to companies and projects with poor environmental performance. The results of this paper show that a top-down system of Green Credit policy has taken shape in China, and Green Credit has proved to be an effective tool in combating environmental degradation and spurring sustainable finance in China with encouraging initial results. This study also reveals that in providing loans to energy-saving and environmental-friendly enterprises, state-owned banks made noticeable progress and did much better than joint-stock banks. Joint-stock banks in general were more conservative and cautious in providing loans to environment-friendly enterprises. The only exception is Industrial Bank, which adopted the Equator Principles in 2008. In exiting or withdrawing loans for “two high” sectors, there is a wide variation among banks, and there is no significant difference between state-owned banks and joint stock banks or between banks which are EPFIs and which are Non-EPFIs in this part.

Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst / A certeza das mudanÃas climÃticas colocou em questÃo o modelo econÃmico atual. A busca pelo lucro atravÃs do consumo, sem consciÃncia, ganhou novas escalas com o surgimento da globalizaÃÃo e com isso a sociedade percebeu que os recursos sÃo finitos e que à preciso mudar. Dentro deste novo contexto, estÃo as instituiÃÃes financeiras, empresas responsÃveis pelo financiamento da maioria das atividades econÃmicas, incluindo as mais poluidoras. Ao financiarem esses tipos de atividades, os bancos tornam-se co-responsÃveis pelo impacto ambiental gerado por elas. Deste modo, a fim de evitarem penalizaÃÃes futuras, foram criadas diversas ferramentas que auxiliam no processo de avaliaÃÃo de crÃdito juntamente com a inserÃÃo da variÃvel ambiental, dentre elas o Protocolo Verde e os PrincÃpios do Equador. Ambas podem ser consideradas iniciativas que abriram o caminho para uma nova modalidade de negÃcios - aquela que se inclui o risco ambiental em suas atividades e avalia o impacto destas no meio ambiente e nas comunidades vizinhas. Este estudo teve como objetivo mensurar a eficiÃncia das instituiÃÃes financeiras na inserÃÃo da variÃvel ambiental a partir do Protocolo Verde e PrincÃpios do Equador. Para isso, foi criado o Ãndice de EficiÃncia da InserÃÃo da VariÃvel Ambiental (IEIVA), atravÃs da adaptaÃÃo de Alimonda e LeÃo (2005), que foi aplicado com cinco instituiÃÃes financeiras, sendo trÃs pÃblicas e duas privadas, atuantes no Brasil. A anÃlise do IEIVA possibilitou conhecer individualmente os Ãndices que o compÃem, permitindo deste modo agir preferencialmente nos indicadores que obtiveram resultados abaixo do esperado, para deste modo melhorar o desempenho total. Ao final pode-se constatar que hà uma pequena diferenÃa que favorece as instituiÃÃes financeiras pÃblicas (Protocolo Verde) em relaÃÃo Ãs privadas (PrincÃpios do Equador). PorÃm ressalta-se que estas duas ferramentas â Protocolo Verde e PrincÃpios do Equador - nÃo sÃo as Ãnicas que permitem a introduÃÃo da questÃo ambiental nas instituiÃÃes financeiras, sendo escolhidas por serem as mais difundidas e utilizadas; dessa forma, somente elas nÃo sÃo garantia para a transformaÃÃo de uma InstituiÃÃo Financeira em uma empresa sustentÃvel; porÃm um caminho. O Desenvolvimento SustentÃvel requer aÃÃes conjuntas entre governos, empresas e sociedade. à preciso que todos estejam conscientizados da importÃncia de se introduzir um novo modelo econÃmico que favoreÃa a ambos. O que parece ser impossÃvel atualmente, mas que no futuro poderà tornar-se indispensÃvel. Assim, a anÃlise da variÃvel ambiental na concessÃo de crÃdito, que hoje parece ser inovadora para o mercado, tem se mostrado apenas necessÃria, diante de recursos naturais cada vez mais escassos. / The certainty of the climatic changes has put in question the current economic model. The search for profit through consumption, without conscience, has reached new levels with the appearance of globalization and with that the society has noticed that the resources are finite and that change is necessary. in this new context, there are the financial institutions, companies responsible for financing most of the economic activities, including the most polluting ones. By financing those types of activities, the banks become co-responsible for the environmental impact generated by their clients. Thus, in order to avoid future penalties, several tools were created to help the process of credit evaluation, together with the inclusion of the environmental variable, among them are the Green Protocol and the Equator Principles. Both can be considered initiatives that paved the way for a new modality of business - that includes the environmental risk in their activities and that evaluates their impact in the environment and in the neighboring communities. This study had the goal of measuring the efficiency of the financial institutions in the inclusion of the environmental variable through the Green Protocol and the Equator Principles. For that, was created the Index of Efficiency of Inclusion of the Environmental Variable (IEIVA), through the adaptation of Alimonda and LeÃo (2005). That index was applied to five financial institutions, with great performance in Brazil, being three public and two private. The analysis of IEIVA led to the understanding of the indices that compose it individually, allowing this way to act preferentially in the indicators that obtained results below the expected, in order to improve the total performance. At the end it was possible to verify that there is a small difference that favors the public financial institutions (Green Protocol) in relation to the private ones (The Equator Principles). Even so it must be emphasized that these two tools - Green Protocol and The Equator Principles - are not the only ones that allow the introduction of the environmental variable in the Financial Institutions, being chosen because they are the more widespread and used; in that way, they do not guarantee the transformation of a financial institution in a sustainable company; even so they open up a road. Sustainable Development demands actions that include governments, companies and society. It is necessary that everybody become aware of the importance of introducing a new economic model that favors all of them. What seems to be now impossible, but that can become indispensable in the future. Therefore the analysis of the environmental variable in the credit concession, that today seems to be innovative for the market, has been showing necessary, before natural resources become rare.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:20:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marco Antonio Dias.pdf: 2870318 bytes, checksum: 395bc224d80361238826474c847dd34d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Because of the union of efforts between European and American banks, clearly in order to maximise the actions towards a sustainable economic model, some financial institutions have created a group in 2002 in the United Kingdom, called the banks of Greenwich, which later came to be known as Equator banks. Precisely in 2003, the Equator banks announced what we know as the Equator Principles, which are voluntary initiatives of good environmental practices in funding for Project Finance. This type of financing is characterized by investing undertakings that require intensive capital, usually long-term and with many interactions with the community where it is happening. Having as background this scenario, the study aims to understand the general relations Brazilian civil society with the Brazilian signatories seats, and analyse the profile of this relationship when compared with the companies of developed countries. The theme is justified by the existence of an intense debate between civil society engaged in non-governmental organizations, and banks signatories. Financial institutions from various parts of the world, quickly joined the group of founding Equator Principles, transforming what would be a way to implement good environmental practices in their operations, in a symbol of distinction between the organizations. Exactly at this point the international literature covering the topic, has no longer checked a new approach of the Equator Principles, such as a dialogue between the banks and society, opening room for a new approach, and thus a new point of view. This work has the intention to seek this explanation, specifically in the Brazilian case, and thus to establish the context of the Equator Principles in face of the challenges of Brazilian society / Devido a união de esforços entre bancos europeus e americanos, e no intuito claro de maximizar as ações em direção a um modelo econômico sustentável, algumas instituições financeiras criaram um grupo em 2002, na Inglaterra, chamado de bancos de Greenwich, que mais tarde vieram a ser conhecidos como bancos do Equador. Precisamente em 2003, os bancos do Equador anunciaram o que hoje conhecemos como Princípios do Equador (PE), que são iniciativas voluntárias de boas práticas ambientais em financiamentos de Project Finance. Este tipo de financiamento é caracterizado por aplicar-se em emprendimentos que exigem capital intensivo, geralmente de longo prazo e com muitas interações com a comunidade onde será realizado. Tendo como pano de fundo esse cenário, o estudo tem como objetivo geral compreender as relações da sociedade civil brasileira com os bancos signatários brasileiros, e analisar qual o perfil desta relação quando comparadas as sociedades de países desenvolvidos. O tema se justifica pela existência de um intenso debate entre a sociedade civil engajada pelas organizações não governamentais, e os bancos signatários. As instituições financeiras originárias de várias partes do mundo, rapidamente se juntaram ao grupo fundador dos Princípios do Equador, transformando o que seria uma forma de implementar boas práticas ambientais em suas operações, em um símbolo de distinção entre as organizações .Exatamente neste aspecto que a literatura internacional, que cobre o tema, deixou de explorar os Princípios do Equador como diálogo entre os bancos e a sociedade, abrindo o espaço para uma nova abordagem, e consequentemente um novo ponto de vista. Este trabalho tem a pretensão de buscar algo que leve a determinação ou validação de um diálogo entre as instituições e a sociedade, especificamente no caso brasileiro; e estabelecer a contextualização dos Princípios do Equador (PE) frente sua aplicabilidade no Brasil

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:53:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marco Antonio Dias.pdf: 2870318 bytes, checksum: 395bc224d80361238826474c847dd34d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Because of the union of efforts between European and American banks, clearly in order to maximise the actions towards a sustainable economic model, some financial institutions have created a group in 2002 in the United Kingdom, called the banks of Greenwich, which later came to be known as Equator banks. Precisely in 2003, the Equator banks announced what we know as the Equator Principles, which are voluntary initiatives of good environmental practices in funding for Project Finance. This type of financing is characterized by investing undertakings that require intensive capital, usually long-term and with many interactions with the community where it is happening. Having as background this scenario, the study aims to understand the general relations Brazilian civil society with the Brazilian signatories seats, and analyse the profile of this relationship when compared with the companies of developed countries. The theme is justified by the existence of an intense debate between civil society engaged in non-governmental organizations, and banks signatories. Financial institutions from various parts of the world, quickly joined the group of founding Equator Principles, transforming what would be a way to implement good environmental practices in their operations, in a symbol of distinction between the organizations. Exactly at this point the international literature covering the topic, has no longer checked a new approach of the Equator Principles, such as a dialogue between the banks and society, opening room for a new approach, and thus a new point of view. This work has the intention to seek this explanation, specifically in the Brazilian case, and thus to establish the context of the Equator Principles in face of the challenges of Brazilian society / Devido a união de esforços entre bancos europeus e americanos, e no intuito claro de maximizar as ações em direção a um modelo econômico sustentável, algumas instituições financeiras criaram um grupo em 2002, na Inglaterra, chamado de bancos de Greenwich, que mais tarde vieram a ser conhecidos como bancos do Equador. Precisamente em 2003, os bancos do Equador anunciaram o que hoje conhecemos como Princípios do Equador (PE), que são iniciativas voluntárias de boas práticas ambientais em financiamentos de Project Finance. Este tipo de financiamento é caracterizado por aplicar-se em emprendimentos que exigem capital intensivo, geralmente de longo prazo e com muitas interações com a comunidade onde será realizado. Tendo como pano de fundo esse cenário, o estudo tem como objetivo geral compreender as relações da sociedade civil brasileira com os bancos signatários brasileiros, e analisar qual o perfil desta relação quando comparadas as sociedades de países desenvolvidos. O tema se justifica pela existência de um intenso debate entre a sociedade civil engajada pelas organizações não governamentais, e os bancos signatários. As instituições financeiras originárias de várias partes do mundo, rapidamente se juntaram ao grupo fundador dos Princípios do Equador, transformando o que seria uma forma de implementar boas práticas ambientais em suas operações, em um símbolo de distinção entre as organizações .Exatamente neste aspecto que a literatura internacional, que cobre o tema, deixou de explorar os Princípios do Equador como diálogo entre os bancos e a sociedade, abrindo o espaço para uma nova abordagem, e consequentemente um novo ponto de vista. Este trabalho tem a pretensão de buscar algo que leve a determinação ou validação de um diálogo entre as instituições e a sociedade, especificamente no caso brasileiro; e estabelecer a contextualização dos Princípios do Equador (PE) frente sua aplicabilidade no Brasil

RABELO, Melca Silva. A eficiência da inserção da variável ambiental nas instituição financeiras perante o protocolo verde e os princípios do Equador. 2008. 144 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Pro-Reitoria de pesquisa e Pós-Graduação, Programa Regional de Pós-graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente - PRODEMA, Fortaleza-CE, 2008. / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-03-31T14:27:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_msrabelo.pdf: 2087742 bytes, checksum: 6a56ee05d4e4e51a9c676ee7bbe774d9 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes(nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-03-31T14:29:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_msrabelo.pdf: 2087742 bytes, checksum: 6a56ee05d4e4e51a9c676ee7bbe774d9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-31T14:29:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_msrabelo.pdf: 2087742 bytes, checksum: 6a56ee05d4e4e51a9c676ee7bbe774d9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / The certainty of the climatic changes has put in question the current economic model. The search for profit through consumption, without conscience, has reached new levels with the appearance of globalization and with that the society has noticed that the resources are finite and that change is necessary. in this new context, there are the financial institutions, companies responsible for financing most of the economic activities, including the most polluting ones. By financing those types of activities, the banks become co-responsible for the environmental impact generated by their clients. Thus, in order to avoid future penalties, several tools were created to help the process of credit evaluation, together with the inclusion of the environmental variable, among them are the Green Protocol and the Equator Principles. Both can be considered initiatives that paved the way for a new modality of business - that includes the environmental risk in their activities and that evaluates their impact in the environment and in the neighboring communities. This study had the goal of measuring the efficiency of the financial institutions in the inclusion of the environmental variable through the Green Protocol and the Equator Principles. For that, was created the Index of Efficiency of Inclusion of the Environmental Variable (IEIVA), through the adaptation of Alimonda and Leão (2005). That index was applied to five financial institutions, with great performance in Brazil, being three public and two private. The analysis of IEIVA led to the understanding of the indices that compose it individually, allowing this way to act preferentially in the indicators that obtained results below the expected, in order to improve the total performance. At the end it was possible to verify that there is a small difference that favors the public financial institutions (Green Protocol) in relation to the private ones (The Equator Principles). Even so it must be emphasized that these two tools - Green Protocol and The Equator Principles - are not the only ones that allow the introduction of the environmental variable in the Financial Institutions, being chosen because they are the more widespread and used; in that way, they do not guarantee the transformation of a financial institution in a sustainable company; even so they open up a road. Sustainable Development demands actions that include governments, companies and society. It is necessary that everybody become aware of the importance of introducing a new economic model that favors all of them. What seems to be now impossible, but that can become indispensable in the future. Therefore the analysis of the environmental variable in the credit concession, that today seems to be innovative for the market, has been showing necessary, before natural resources become rare. / A certeza das mudanças climáticas colocou em questão o modelo econômico atual. A busca pelo lucro através do consumo, sem consciência, ganhou novas escalas com o surgimento da globalização e com isso a sociedade percebeu que os recursos são finitos e que é preciso mudar. Dentro deste novo contexto, estão as instituições financeiras, empresas responsáveis pelo financiamento da maioria das atividades econômicas, incluindo as mais poluidoras. Ao financiarem esses tipos de atividades, os bancos tornam-se co-responsáveis pelo impacto ambiental gerado por elas. Deste modo, a fim de evitarem penalizações futuras, foram criadas diversas ferramentas que auxiliam no processo de avaliação de crédito juntamente com a inserção da variável ambiental, dentre elas o Protocolo Verde e os Princípios do Equador. Ambas podem ser consideradas iniciativas que abriram o caminho para uma nova modalidade de negócios - aquela que se inclui o risco ambiental em suas atividades e avalia o impacto destas no meio ambiente e nas comunidades vizinhas. Este estudo teve como objetivo mensurar a eficiência das instituições financeiras na inserção da variável ambiental a partir do Protocolo Verde e Princípios do Equador. Para isso, foi criado o Índice de Eficiência da Inserção da Variável Ambiental (IEIVA), através da adaptação de Alimonda e Leão (2005), que foi aplicado com cinco instituições financeiras, sendo três públicas e duas privadas, atuantes no Brasil. A análise do IEIVA possibilitou conhecer individualmente os índices que o compõem, permitindo deste modo agir preferencialmente nos indicadores que obtiveram resultados abaixo do esperado, para deste modo melhorar o desempenho total. Ao final pode-se constatar que há uma pequena diferença que favorece as instituições financeiras públicas (Protocolo Verde) em relação às privadas (Princípios do Equador). Porém ressalta-se que estas duas ferramentas – Protocolo Verde e Princípios do Equador - não são as únicas que permitem a introdução da questão ambiental nas instituições financeiras, sendo escolhidas por serem as mais difundidas e utilizadas; dessa forma, somente elas não são garantia para a transformação de uma Instituição Financeira em uma empresa sustentável; porém um caminho. O Desenvolvimento Sustentável requer ações conjuntas entre governos, empresas e sociedade. É preciso que todos estejam conscientizados da importância de se introduzir um novo modelo econômico que favoreça a ambos. O que parece ser impossível atualmente, mas que no futuro poderá tornar-se indispensável. Assim, a análise da variável ambiental na concessão de crédito, que hoje parece ser inovadora para o mercado, tem se mostrado apenas necessária, diante de recursos naturais cada vez mais escassos.

In this article, the authors describe how the International Financial Corporation of the World Bank, and the 77 global financial institutions that have signed on to the Equator Principles, have come to the conclusion that social conflict with indigenous communities needs to be resolved through the application of free, prior, informed and consent. While the requirement to obtain consent of an indigenous people would appear to make it more difficult for extractive industry projects to proceed, theories of dispute resolution developed by the Harvard Negotiation Project suggest that where consent is obtained, it is more likely thatc onflicts will be reduced.

In the environmental context banks face direct, indirect and reputational risks from their internal operations and their external business activities. The current specific focus on the protection of the environment makes it essential for banks and their directors to be aware and stay on top of potential risks and liabilities. This is especially so because banks’ directors can be criminally prosecuted for environmental crimes. The application and effect of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) on persons convicted of an environmental crime or crimes has been identified as a possible new or added risk for banks and their directors. Banks in addition to their normal environmental risk and liabilities also need to contend with the possibility of lender liability. Existing legislation pertinent to lender liability does not expressly or specifically deal with lender liability. Absence of judgements on lender liability further exacerbates the risks and the uncertainty for banks in South Africa. Therefore, banks remain subject to legal uncertainty and associated risks. The issue of lender liability specifically with regard to the implication of “the person in control” requires clarification. Hence, it is recommended that legislation relevant to lender liability (National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998; National Water Act 36 of 1998 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008) be revised to specifically accommodate and protect lenders (lending banks) in certain distinct circumstances. The role of banks is that of an intermediary between borrowers and lenders of money. Therefore, it influences the direction and pace of economic development and by default steers and promotes either sustainable or non-sustainable development. Currently, mainstream banks are in effect financing a brown economy and hence subscribe to a weak form of sustainability. It would seem that mainstream banks are more concerned with managing the impact that environmental risk may have on bank lending than the impact of bank lending on the environment. The evolving nature of sustainability (from weak to strong and from a brown to green economy) demands a fundamental policy change for banks. It is expected that mainstream banks will be put under even greater pressure than before to make the transition from weak to strong sustainability. Hence, banks’ current environmental risk management systems will not be sufficient to cater for new environmental risks and liabilities that the move to stronger sustainability (in the form of the green economy) will present. Banks should adopt the stronger version of sustainability; formulate environmental principles that the bank will adhere to; incorporate these environmental principles into all aspects of its lending cycle, develop an environmental risk management system that should include as a minimum the identification of all the applicable legislation pertaining to the specific financing or lending of capital, risk identification, assessment of the specific risk, implementation of risk control measures, mitigation of the risk, risk monitoring and auditing. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In the environmental context banks face direct, indirect and reputational risks from their internal operations and their external business activities. The current specific focus on the protection of the environment makes it essential for banks and their directors to be aware and stay on top of potential risks and liabilities. This is especially so because banks’ directors can be criminally prosecuted for environmental crimes. The application and effect of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) on persons convicted of an environmental crime or crimes has been identified as a possible new or added risk for banks and their directors. Banks in addition to their normal environmental risk and liabilities also need to contend with the possibility of lender liability. Existing legislation pertinent to lender liability does not expressly or specifically deal with lender liability. Absence of judgements on lender liability further exacerbates the risks and the uncertainty for banks in South Africa. Therefore, banks remain subject to legal uncertainty and associated risks. The issue of lender liability specifically with regard to the implication of “the person in control” requires clarification. Hence, it is recommended that legislation relevant to lender liability (National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998; National Water Act 36 of 1998 and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008) be revised to specifically accommodate and protect lenders (lending banks) in certain distinct circumstances. The role of banks is that of an intermediary between borrowers and lenders of money. Therefore, it influences the direction and pace of economic development and by default steers and promotes either sustainable or non-sustainable development. Currently, mainstream banks are in effect financing a brown economy and hence subscribe to a weak form of sustainability. It would seem that mainstream banks are more concerned with managing the impact that environmental risk may have on bank lending than the impact of bank lending on the environment. The evolving nature of sustainability (from weak to strong and from a brown to green economy) demands a fundamental policy change for banks. It is expected that mainstream banks will be put under even greater pressure than before to make the transition from weak to strong sustainability. Hence, banks’ current environmental risk management systems will not be sufficient to cater for new environmental risks and liabilities that the move to stronger sustainability (in the form of the green economy) will present. Banks should adopt the stronger version of sustainability; formulate environmental principles that the bank will adhere to; incorporate these environmental principles into all aspects of its lending cycle, develop an environmental risk management system that should include as a minimum the identification of all the applicable legislation pertaining to the specific financing or lending of capital, risk identification, assessment of the specific risk, implementation of risk control measures, mitigation of the risk, risk monitoring and auditing. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014