Greening China's Belt and Road

Deutsche Bank last week became a founding signatory and supporter of China’s Green Investment Principles (GIP) for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), committing to a voluntary set of green principles aimed at promoting green investment for Belt and Road. Deutsche Bank is one of 27 financial institutions that signed the GIP on April 25 in Beijing at the second Belt and Road High-level Forum hosted by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Ministry of Finance.

The Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road were jointly developed by the Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking and the City of London Corporation’s Green Finance Initiative. Signatories include all major Chinese banks and China’s investors in the Belt and Road region, as well as some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific CEO and Member of the Management Board Werner Steinmueller welcomed the development, saying: “Business and economic ties between China, Europe, and BRI countries continue to strengthen. We are one of the most active foreign banks participating in BRI with full corporate and investment banking offerings along the route. By committing to the GIP, we are pledging that we will not only help steer BRI’s open collaboration across countries from China to Europe, but also strive to ensure these projects are as sustainable as possible.”

Attending the forum in Beijing with other finance sector leaders and signing the GIP was Feng Gao, Chief Country Officer for Deutsche Bank China.

First published in November last year, the GIP are well aligned with Deutsche Bank’s own Group Sustainability policies and commitments.

The Belt and Road Green Investment Principles are:

• Principle 1: Embedding sustainability into corporate governance
• Principle 2: Understanding environmental, social and governance risks
• Principle 3: Disclosing environmental information
• Principle 4: Enhancing communication with stakeholders
• Principle 5: Utilising green financial instruments
• Principle 6: Adopting green supply chain management
• Principle 7: Building capacity through collective action

Signatories to the investment principles include all major Chinese banks, Silk Road investors and some of the world's largest financial institutions:

• Agricultural Bank of China,
• Agricultural Development Bank of China,
• Al Hilal Bank, Astana International Exchange,
• Bank of China,
• Bank of East Asia,
• China Construction Bank,
• China Development Bank,
• China International Contractors Association,
• China International Capital Corporation,
• Crédit Agricole-CIB,
• DBS Bank,
• Deutsche Bank,
• Export-Import Bank of China,
• First Abu Dhabi Bank,
• Habib Bank of Pakistan,
• Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing,
• Industrial and Commercial Bank of China,
• Industrial Bank,
• Khan Bank,
• Luxembourg Stock Exchange,
• Mizuho Bank,
• Natixis Bank,
• Silk Road Fund,
• Standard Chartered Bank,
• Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia,
• UBS Group.