Equator Principles 2022 Annual General Meeting (17-20 October) – Meeting Outcomes

The Equator Principles Association held its 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) from 17 – 21 October in Seoul, South Korea. Over 150 people were able to attend the meeting in-person or online representing 110 Equator Principles Financial Institutions (“EPFIs”). The Steering Committee decided to hold the event in Seoul in recognition of the continued strong growth in members from Asia.

This year the agenda covered a range of operational and governance matters as well as providing a forum for members to debate current and emerging issues and trends, and share learning on a range of external initiatives.

A key theme of this year’s discussion was how to further develop the Association to continue to deliver our strategic aims, and to ensure that we maintain standards of implementation amongst members.

Growth in members and the E&S agenda

Since our last in-person AGM in 2019, the Association has grown by 35% and more than doubled its membership in Asia.

The Association discussed the challenges and opportunities from the continued rapid increase in the size and diversity of the membership over recent years, especially as this coincides with growing pressures on volunteer time from EPFIs to drive the Association’s objectives.

Members spent time discussing the place of the EPs in the wider E&S landscape, which is developing at a rapid pace, and considered where we can best align our resource and leverage to have positive impact.

Operational and Governance proposals

The Association is considering a range of proposals to further strengthen our membership structure and to further mature the operations of the Association itself. This year has seen the appointment of an Interim COO, marking the first time that the Association has had a dedicated strategic resource to deliver our workplan.

In 2023, the Association will appoint its first CEO to ensure dedicated leadership to focus on delivering the EPA’s objectives over several years, and we expect to begin the recruitment process for this in the coming weeks.

Guidance and training

Members discussed the numerous Guidance documents released by the Association this year, with several more still under development. Since the launch of EP4, the Association has developed or updated more than ten guidance documents to support the EPs; recognising the vital role that these play in driving up consistency of implementation for EPFIs, as well as providing tools to assist our clients and consultants.

There was strong interest from members in pursuing new ways to support knowledge sharing, particularly for new members. In addition, we are looking at additional ways to support EPFIs to continue these important conversations, but also to leverage the expertise and tools in our wider networks.

20-year anniversary

2023 will mark the 20-year anniversary of the Equator Principles. We are planning events to recognise the efforts of EPFIs and individuals over this period, as well as using this occasion to reflect on where to take the Association for the next 20 years to ensure that we remain the authoritative environmental and social risk management framework across the financial services industry.

Amit Puri, EP Association Chair, Global Head Sustainable Finance, Standard Chartered:
“As the Association looks towards our 20-year anniversary in 2023, it is time to consider how we remain relevant as the gold standard for E&S risk management for another 20 years. Over the last few days, there have been some robust discussions about how to best position the EPA to support our fast-growing membership against the backdrop of a rapidly evolving environmental and social risk landscape. I look forward to some exciting new changes for the Association in the coming year, not least, the appointment of our first CEO”.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
EPA Primary Contact: Courtenay Smith
Email: secretariat@equator-principles.com
Telephone: +44 7764 435 921