CAF provides training to financial institutions regarding environmental issues

(Caracas, February 17th, 2014).- CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, has implemented the Environmental and Social Management Program for Financial Institutions (PGASIF, for its acronym in Spanish) to search for mechanisms that allow member financial institutions and clients to incorporate at an early stage, and within their management, the basic environmental and social considerations with respect to project financing. In the framework of this program, 23 financial institutions from eight countries of Latin America and the Caribbean were provided training in 2013.   

The training courses for Environmental and Social Risk Analysis for financial institutions are organized in the framework of the Financial Initiative of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP-FI), through a virtual platform that allows for a user friendly training on Environmental Management for managers, supervisors, and staff linked to the areas of corporate banking risk analysis, investments, and commercial banking located or dealing with developing countries or emerging markets. 

Nineteen staff members from 17 financial institutions in the region, coming from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela received training to develop skills and a better understanding of the business complexities that climate change presents to financial institutions. 

Thus, institutions will be able to integrate this environmental content into the action plans and corporate strategies, identify risks, opportunities, and markets for new plans and strategies, adapt the material for internal use, and use the teaching material as an independent reference guide. 

CAF, as part of the UNEP-FI Latin American Work Group, met with other public and private banks in October of 2013 in Bogota, with the purpose of ratifying its support to the training initiatives for first and second floor banking executives regarding the aforementioned issues.   

In addition, it announced the expansion of its training offer to financial institutions of the region regarding evaluation and development of energy efficient financial products, renewable energies, and bio-trade, to promote the mitigation of environmental impacts, the reduction of carbon emissions, improvement of eco-efficiency, and competitiveness of Latin American enterprises, to support them in their transition toward a low carbon economy.