BSP releases maiden sustainability report

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released Monday its inaugural Sustainability Report (Report) outlining the progress made in advancing the sustainability agenda in the Philippine financial system towards creating more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient societies and economy.

The Report reaffirms BSP’s commitment to bringing sustainability at the forefront of its operations.

The Sustainability Report details how the BSP, consistent with its primary mandates of maintaining price stability and promoting financial stability, is integrating sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in its strategic objectives and functions.

This covers the initiatives under financial supervision, preliminary work in the areas of monetary policy and operations (i.e., reserve management and credit operations), and projects and activities in support operations (e.g., risk management, currency production, technology and innovation development, building and maintenance, and procurement).

The Report also features the participation of the BSP in national and international conversations on sustainable finance as well as its initiatives in the pipeline and future plans in pursuing the sustainability agenda.

These include the development of a taxonomy, grant of regulatory incentives to promote financing to sustainable projects and investments, and enhancements to stress testing guidelines, prudential reports, and disclosure requirements.

The BSP will also build up initiatives promoting inclusive green finance as it recognizes the benefits to vulnerable sectors such as the micro, small, and medium enterprises in line with the interrelated objectives of promoting sustainable finance, digitalization, and financial inclusion.

BSP Governor Felipe M. Medalla said: “Sustainability reporting is an important lever that allows the BSP and its supervised entities to progressively shift towards adoption of environmentally and socially responsible policies and work practices. In embracing greater transparency, organizations are better able to measure and communicate their sustainability progress and performance, driving greater stakeholder engagement and improved investor confidence.”

Consistent with global efforts of fostering greater transparency and accountability, the issuance of the maiden Sustainability Report marks an important milestone as it demonstrates the BSP’s commitment to manage climate risks and achieve sustainable development outcomes.  This fulfills one of the key strategies under the 11-point Sustainable Central Banking (SCB) Strategy – to include climate-related financial disclosures in the Annual Report, building on BSP’s previous efforts of introducing the SCB Program and the related initiatives in the 2020 and 2021 Annual Reports.

The BSP’s 2022 Sustainability Report was prepared with reference to the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) Guide on Climate-related Disclosures for Central Banks.

The 2022 Sustainability Report can be accessed through the BSP SCB webpage.

View Full Report: https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Media_And_Research/Media Releases/2023_07/BSP Sustainability Report 2022.pdf