Helping Finance Become A Force For Sustainability

Mindful Money welcomes today’s launch of Toitū Tahua, the Centre for Sustainable Finance. The Sustainable Finance Forum already made an important contribution through its roadmap towards sustainable finance. The establishment of the Centre is a necessary next step towards translating this roadmap into action.

Mindful Money’s Founder and CEO, Barry Coates commented: “Mindful Money supports the aim of the Centre to re-orient the finance system towards outcomes that are beneficial for well-being, the environment and climate action. A follow up mechanism is needed to ensure that roadmap for sustainable finance is carried through to tangible outcomes. We look forward to working with the Centre to catalyse change and develop new initiatives.”

“The establishment of the Centre is a step along the pathway, shifting finance from being part of the problem to becoming a crucial part of the solution. The Centre will help address issues such as the focus on short term financial returns (tragedy of the horizon) rather than long term outcomes that shift funds from pollution and exploitation towards companies with high sustainability standards and beneficial outcomes.”

“New Zealand is not the first country to be on this pathway. Others like the UK, EU and China have recognised the central role of finance in the climate transition. By adopting high standards and orienting finance towards zero emissions, the New Zealand finance sector could attract financial inflows from international investors. This is an opportunity for our finance sector to participate in the rapid transformation of the global finance sector.”

“The ethical and responsible investment movement is at the forefront of these changes. Mindful Money has accelerated change through transparency of portfolio holdings and promotion of credible ethical funds. We have also played a role in encouraging financial providers and the broader sector to embrace sustainability, including through the recent Ethical and Impact investment Awards.”

“We are pleased to have contributed to the Sustainable Finance Forum’s Technical Working Group and provided drafts for the roadmap, and we look forward to working closely with Toitū Tahua on putting in place the initiatives that will re-orient the finance mainstream towards zero emissions and sustainability.”

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