Natixis and Global Infrastructure Basel launch SuRe® the first standard for sustainable and resilient infrastructure.
Infrastructure projects worldwide are estimated to account for the vast majority of the total incremental financing required to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. To contribute to this goal, Natixis and the Swiss foundation Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) have partnered to develop SuRe® - the Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure. Certification under this standard will be awarded by an independent conformity assessment body and will be used to label sustainable and resilient infrastructures projects. SuRe® will be officially launched in December 2015, during the COP 21, following a public consultation that ran until early November 2015.
With their unique expertise in infrastructure and environmental and social impact assessments, Natixis and GIB have joined forces to create this standard with the view of facilitating the financing of infrastructure that supports the transition to a more sustainable economy, notably in developing and emerging countries.
Certification under the standard will be awarded to infrastructure projects that meet specific environmental, social and governance evaluation as well as resilience criteria and will highlight the positive sustainable development impacts of the infrastructure projects that earn it.
The standard is intended to serve as a common assessment tool to be used by public entities, project sponsors and institutional investors alike. The standard will allow public entities and industrial sponsors to adapt the design (and/or the upgrade) of infrastructure projects and use the certification to attract financing from relevant sources. Institutional investors will have a means of identifying projects eligible for inclusion in SRI funds.
This standard is being developed as part of a multi-stakeholder process coordinated by Natixis and GIB, who together constitute the SuRe Secretariat. The standard is governed by a Standard Committee, a body involving 14 experts in the infrastructure industry and in sustainability and resilience issues which decides on the standard approach, content and standard-setting procedures; and the Stakeholder Council, a forum of 25 stakeholders tasked to provide feedback on the standard and ensure its relevance across groups of stakeholders and regions of the world. Stakeholders include public entities, infrastructure developers and contractors, public and private financial institutions, certification and consulting, civil society, academia from around the world.
Global Infrastructure Basel (GIB) Foundation is a Swiss foundation based in Basel, Switzerland working to promote the development and financing of sustainable and resilient infrastructure globally.
Active since 2008, GIB works with multiple stakeholders ranging from city representatives to project developers and infrastructure financiers. In line with its vision, GIB provides tools such as SuRe – the Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure and is developing a Sustainability and Resilience Credit Rating tool as well as advancing the concept of a sustainable Best in Class approach for Infrastructure as an asset class. GIB also provides services including capacity building and implementation services.
GIB is an independent, not-for-profit foundation under Swiss law supported by the Swiss Government, the City of Basel and many other partners.
GIB media contact
Hans-Peter Egler
+41 61 205 10 64
hans-peter.egler@gib-foundation.org
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About Groupe BPCE
Groupe BPCE is the second-largest banking group in France. Through its 100,000 staff, the group serves 35 million customers – individuals, professionals, companies, investors and local government bodies – around the world. It operates in the retail banking and insurance fields in France via its two major networks, Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne, along with Banque Palatine and Oney. It also pursues its activities worldwide with the asset & wealth management services provided by Natixis Investment Managers and the wholesale banking expertise of Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking. The Group's financial strength is recognized by four credit rating agencies with the following senior preferred LT ratings: Moody's (A1, stable outlook), Standard & Poor's (A, stable outlook), Fitch (AA-, negative outlook) and R&I (A+, stable outlook).
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