The term “ESG” refers to a firm’s overall impact on the environment, society, and the strength and openness of its corporate governance, including matters such as executive compensation, company leadership, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights. The environmental considerations center on how the company lessens its environmental impact, for instance, resource depletion, greenhouse gas emission, and deforestation. The social component is concerned with the way a company affects both workplace culture and the larger society, for instance, working conditions, including child labour and slavery; and health and safety. The term “governance” describes the procedures for making decisions, reporting, and managing the day-to-day operations of an organisation including issues on donations and political lobbying, corruption, and bribery.

Similarly, Islamic finance, which is guided by the principles of Islamic law (Shariah), continues to grow rapidly. Islamic finance refers to financial services – such as banking or investment – where money is raised and used in line with Shari’ah. It prohibits interests (riba), engagement with gambling (maysir), uncertainty (gharar), and prohibited industries like alcohol and pornography. It offers perspectives that aligns closely with ESG objectives. This blog post explores the reasons why Islamic finance is inherently compatible with ESG principles and how Islamic banks are taking steps to align with ESG principles. One area of convergence between ESG and Islamic Finance is that both encourage economic expansion and financial stability, as well as the protection of the environment and the eradication of poverty. For instance, countries like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have begun to issue green and sustainable sukuk. These investments in environmental assets and renewable energy are compliant with Shari’ah.

Just like ESG, Islamic Finance requires screening out certain industries, the beneficiaries’/clients’ values must be reflected in the portfolios, together with the objective of creating a just and sustainable society and avoiding environmental or human harm. The screenings could be absolute, for instance, it could prohibit weapons, pornography, and cluster ammunition. Where the screening is relative, the rules can entail for instance barring businesses whose tobacco sales account for at least 10% of their total revenue. Companies or issuers that perform poorly in terms of ESG factors or that transgress international soft laws like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights may also be excluded. Investments in conventional financial services, cigarettes, alcohol, pork, pornography, guns, gambling, human smuggling, and other goods and activities that are regarded as illegal are prohibited under Islamic finance, which is based on Shari’ah regulations.

Islamic finance places emphasis on investments in real assets and tangible projects that have a positive impact on society. This emphasis is consistent with the ESG philosophy of investing in businesses and initiatives that meet social needs, produce sustainable value, and improve the general well-being of communities.

Although similarities exist between ESG and Islamic Finance, there are areas of divergence. Islamic Finance prohibits security lending and shorting. ESG does not prohibit it but some investors running ESG investing strategies also will not partake in security lending and shorting, while others will apply rules that allow them to vote on shareholder resolutions.

Islamic banks are taking steps like their conventional counterparts to align with ESG. Some of them are signatories to the Principles on Responsible Banking like Al Baraka Banking Group (Bahrain), Gatehouse Bank (UK) and Jaiz Bank (Nigeria) which are fully Shari’ah compliant. A new three-year ESG strategy to incorporate ESG risk concerns within the banking framework was recently highlighted in the Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank’s second annual ESG report.

Overall, there is a chance to increase the influence of ethical and responsible investing due to the convergence of Islamic finance and ESG. It enables Islamic financial institutions and investors to include ESG factors and support sustainable development while upholding their core values and tenets. This convergence encourages the development of ethical finance, broadens the use of sustainable investment strategies, and helps create a more equitable and sustainable international financial system.

Register here to participate in the conversation on ESG at the Ethical Finance Global 2023 summit organised by our partner GEFI.

POSTED IN: ACTIVITIES, ARTICLES, INSIGHTS

Faith groups have a long history of incorporating values into financial decision-making. For thousands of years, the world’s major faiths have included instructions on how to carry out business in an ethical manner, and the modern ethical finance movement has its roots in religious investment funds seeking to exclude weapons manufacturers from their portfolios in the 1970s. The Pax World Fund, launched in 1971 by Methodists in reaction to the Vietnam War, is still active today and known as Impax Funds.

In 2018, the Edinburgh Finance Declaration was launched by UKIFC in collaboration with GEFI and the Church of Scotland after a three-year dialogue. The Edinburgh Finance Declaration is a ray of hope in a world where economic systems frequently put financial gain ahead of morality. By working together, these institutions strive to promote financial integrity, responsible investment, and economic justice.

In this article, we look at the six shared values in operation in both Islam and Christianity which the Declaration identifies as providing an ethical framework. They are – Stewardship, Love of the Neighbour, Human Flourishing, Sustainability & Purposefulness, Justice & Equity and the Common Good.

Both religions place an emphasis on stewardship which implies that the money we possess ultimately belongs to God and is to be spent in accordance with righteous moral standards, with investments made with the welfare of humanity in mind. In the Holy Quran (Q2:30), human beings have been appointed as vicegerents on earth and Genesis 1.26- 27 has a similar provision.

It suggests a sense of social duty and a dedication to advancing others’ well-being, rather than just expressing love or other forms of connection. It was reported by a companion of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said: “Jibra’il kept enjoining good treatment of neighbours until I thought he would make neighbours heirs.” Loving one’s neighbour is also mentioned in Matthew 22:34-40. This concept helps to develop empathy, kindness, and care for other people.

It refers to a person’s condition of maximum well-being and development, during which time they are experiencing personal growth, fulfilment, and potential realisation not just for themselves but for the overall good. Additionally, it entails the capacity to completely embody the virtues of charity, compassion, and justice within a society through not only the advancement of commerce but also one that is mindful of the needs of all.

The idea of stewardship means that human beings must take responsibility to manage the available resources and use them efficiently. Sustainability and environmental stewardship are frequently values that cross religious boundaries. By working together, religious groups can influence the financial sector to support initiatives that put focus on renewable energy, environmental protection, and ethical business practices.

Justice, equality, and compassion are values that are emphasized in both religious traditions. There can be cooperation in the financial sector to combat systematic injustices, poverty, and marginalisation. As a result of his concern for the extreme poverty of his parishioners, Rev. Henry Duncan founded the first savings bank – Ruthwell Parish Savings Bank in 1810 with the intention of promoting saving among the working class and protecting them from the degrading effects of poor relief. Interestingly, Mit Ghamr established the first Islamic bank on his model. Although both banks were short-lived, they were foundations for the recent banking models.

POSTED IN: ACTIVITIES, ARTICLES, INSIGHTS

In our recently published report, Attitudes of banking customers towards the UN SDGs, an impressive 87% of respondents stated that they would be willing to pay extra for SDG-aligned products. For a product to be SDG aligned, it must be connected to one or more of the existing 169 targets under the 17 SDGs. What exactly does that mean?

An SDG-aligned banking product is similar to a sustainability or green product. It can be a loan, bond, sukuk, or any other sort of financial product. The difference from a traditional product is that these specialty products are designed with a specific goal in mind, usually an environmental or social goal that can be measured. For instance, a green loan that is tied to a particular project may have different repayment amounts for different levels of success, such as cutting emissions from a particular business by 20% or 50%. In this case, the borrower would repay less if they achieved more of an emissions cut.

The findings from Attitudes of Banking Customers Towards the UN SDGs, recently released by GEFI and the UKIFC, found that 80% of Global North respondents and 89% of Global South respondents were willing to pay more for an SDG-aligned financial product. On average, the respondents were willing to pay a premium of up to 4.4%. That’s a significant amount, a clear demonstration that this is becoming more and more important to financial product clients all over the world.

There were variations in feedback that were most evident in age, with the lowest (18-24 year olds) and highest (65+) being willing to pay the lowest premium (3.8% and 2.1%, respectively). This is likely due to differences in awareness. Younger respondents are in the process of learning about financial products and exploring what works best for them, while older respondents may have concerns that impact-oriented investing may not be as effective as traditional investing. In both cases, clear educational tools and resources would be beneficial. Luckily, more and more research is finding that investing from a sustainability-backed approach does well to mitigate risk, tends to be less volatile, and is economically profitable.

When developing these financial products, financial institutions have an opportunity to impact genuine positive change. The OECD’s Framework for SDG Aligned Finance presented this beautifully with two primary objectives:

1. Equality: resources should be mobilised to leave no one behind and fill the SDG financing gaps, and
2. Sustainability: resources should accelerate progress across the SDGs.

This is pivotal as it emphasizes the need to make socially conscious decisions while addressing the SDGs, to ensure that investments in one area are not detrimental to another. For instance, suddenly shutting down all mining operations may be better for the environment, but it could leave the local population struggling if there is no other industry around. SDG financial products must be carefully designed to maximize positive benefit while mitigating the negative.

With a strong interest in SDG-aligned financial products from consumers and research supporting the economic benefits of such an investment, it is no wonder that impact investing has grown 63% from 2019 to 2021, surpassing $1.2 trillion according to the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). Demand is rising for positive investments that are good for people and good for the planet.

The findings from Attitudes of banking customers towards the UN SDGs, a joint effort by GEFI and UKIFC, found consistently strong support for financial products that are SDG aligned. These products give banking clients the opportunity to directly support causes they feel strongly about, to invest in their communities, and to see positive returns for socially and environmentally aligned investments. It is empowering for clients, creates opportunities for financial institutions to invest in risk-mitigated, strategic, long-term projects, and fosters a sense of inclusion.

To support this important work, GEFI has designed the SDG Product Platform. Financial products are carefully assessed to ensure that they meet the goals they set for themselves, and GEFI works closely with the asset manager to maintain SDG alignment and economic benefit. Learn more about GEFI’s SDG Product Platform here: