BAP leads banks in environmental protection

The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) together with the Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) and the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines (RBAP) took a major step in the protection of the environment by launching recently the banking sector’s Joint Statement on the Environment and Sustainable Development.

BAP president Placido Mapa, Jr. said that this is an expression of the banking sector’s commitment to actively play a role in the collective responsibility for environmental protection. A number of banks now require compliance to environmental regulations prior to loan approval while others have installed an environmental management system (EMS) in their operations.

Mapa also said that this activity seeks to open to the BAP members and the whole banking sector the opportunities for exploring environment as an alternative area for investment, as well as to give it importance in project financing.

The renewed vigor in economic activities combined with the local and international financing communities advocating greater environmental awareness in the banking system indicate an intensified demand for more environmental investments, he added.

The launching and signing of the statement was held at the DBP headquarters in Makati City last June 29 and attended by some 300 top representatives of commercial, thrift and rural banks, including industry associations, and funders.

Mapa also said that DBP initiated the signing of the joint statement since last year. The state-owned bank has its own environmental management system in place awaiting ISO 14001 certification before the last quarter of the year. DBP has over P23 billion in resources dedicated for environmental projects, he added.