Financial Institutions From Paper Recycling to Sustainability Analysts

In November 2000, a group of 11 financial service institutions with headquarters in Germany and Switzerland, consulted by E2, developed the indicator standard EPI-Finance 2000 to measure the environmental performance of financial services. E2 produced the final report, which can be found in both English and German at www.epifinance.com.

The financial services display varying degrees of environmental relevance:

Within those financial services of particular environmental relevance it is important to integrate an examination of environmental aspects into the existing business processes. For this purpose, internal know-how needs to be established and the line positions require training.

The instrument of company eco-balances, co-developed by E2 partners, has gained wide acceptance within the area of in-house ecology. Eco-balancing allows for the substance and energy flows of financial institutions to be determined and evaluated through environmental and financial criteria.

The VfU indicators were developed, with participation of E2, to measure in-house ecological performance. They are widely applied in the German speaking countries. More than 30 financial service institutions, and also increasingly public authorities, collect and publish these indicators.The indicators are accepted e.g. for reporting to the CDP.