Circular Economy Lab at the Asian Financial Forum 2021
The Circular Economy Lab has been one of the protagonists of the 2021 edition of the Asian Financial Forum, the main financial event in Asia-Pacific organized every year by the Hong Kong Trade and Development Council (HKTDC), which is attended by leading financial institutions, regulators and organizations in the Asia Pacific. This year's edition was held on January 18 and 19 on a digital format, involving 63,000 people from more than 70 countries. The topics covered during the two-day event dealt with the main issues of interest for the financial world such as Economic Outlook 2021, post-pandemic world, climate change, innovation and forecasting issues in Environmental, Social and Governance as well as Circular Economy.
The event saw the involvement of Intesa Sanpaolo Group: of IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division (Hong Kong Hub) and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center (CE Lab and International Network), played a strategic role in leading, creating and managing the panel "Financing the Circular Economy".
Mauro Micillo - Head of IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division of the Intesa Sanpaolo Group - kicked off the session by presenting the vision and the concrete activities carried out by Intesa Sanpaolo (Circular Economy Plafond, Financing for Environmental, Social and Governance activities, support to the Group's Corporate Clients) on issues related to the Circular Economy, sustainability and the global positioning of the Group.
"Climate Change is an extremely significant phenomenon whose consequences is not limited to the environment, but it also has a social impact on the future generations. Companies are not only focused to understand and manage the impact they have on the society and the environment, but they are also increasingly developing strategies to address the impact of the environment and societies on the companies itself. Alongside public sector investment and pressure of climate change, strong signals also need to come from the private sector. Banks can play a key role in this. Attention to sustainability issues and finance is now really high worldwide. In the first ten months of 2020, there was a 29% increase in global green and sustainable loans along with a 19% increase in green bonds, for a total amount of 107 billion euros in green and sustainable loans and 155 billion of Green Bonds."
This speech was followed by the intervention of Massimiano Tellini, Head Circular Economy for Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
“The Circular Economy is the new economic paradigm, propelled by strategic innovation and cultural mind shift, based on the decoupling of growth from the exploitation of finite natural resources. Finance is key to support investments geared to create value through innovative business models and redesigned relationships along the value chain. Intesa Sanpaolo, in its capacity of Strategic Partner of the EMF, is actively supporting this systemic transition also in the Asia Pacific through finance with the €6bn credit Plafond and through open Innovation advisory services, so to boost the competitiveness of its clients also from a gradual de-risking perspective”
The panel, moderated by Clara Ferreira, Bloomberg columnist, discussed and presented experiences in the Circular Economy and sustainability field, also involving the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Indorama Ventures.