Standard Chartered adopts ICC’s sustainable finance principles

Standard Chartered has adopted the International Chamber of Commerce’s Industry Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance, making it the first international bank to confirm the alignment of its Sustainable Trade Finance solutions.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday.

In October 2024, ICC published a set of principles aimed at providing clear, transparent, and consistent guidelines to enable banks, corporates, and investors to effectively channel capital towards sustainable and inclusive trade finance facilities.

Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Standard Chartered, Sofia Hammoucha, on the development said, “Standard Chartered first introduced its sustainable trade finance proposition in 2021, and as part of our efforts to support the creation of sustainable trade finance standards across the industry, we are pleased to adopt ICC’s principles. We are committed to offering our clients innovative solutions that empower them to achieve their sustainability goals while effectively managing associated risks. We applaud ICC for leading the way in setting the international guidelines for the industry, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them to shape the future of sustainable trade finance globally.”

The ICC Principles provide a robust methodology for evaluating sustainable trade finance transactions. This includes a standardised approach for assessing use-of-proceeds in trade finance transactions, enhanced due diligence protocols for sustainability verification, and unified reporting standards to ensure consistency across financial institutions.

Head of Sustainability at ICC, Raelene Martin, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Standard Chartered’s adoption of the ICC’s Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance, which marks an important step in aligning the industry around a common methodology for the assessment of sustainable trade finance. As one of the leading trade banks, Standard Chartered’s tremendous support is integral to our ongoing efforts to provide thought leadership and guidance that is fit for purpose for the industry globally. We believe that the ICC Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance present an important milestone in embedding sustainability at the heart of global trade in a practical and robust way. We look forward to our continued partnership and to expanding adoption of ICC’s guidance more broadly.”

Boston Consulting Group, a long-term strategic partner of ICC, co-leading ICC’s Sustainable Trade programme since its inception, including the working group that developed the most recent Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance, also applauded the adoption by Standard Chartered.

Partner at BCG, Ravi Hanspal, said, “Accelerating sustainable trade is a critical enabler in decarbonising some of the world’s most complex supply chains. Unlike for many other financial products, trade finance practitioners have not historically had a clear, consistent, and consensus definition on what constitutes sustainable trade finance, limiting its application. The formal recognition and adoption of ICC’s Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance by a leading global financial institution is a huge step forward on this journey and is hopefully the first of many more.”