THE Ethical Finance Hub in Edinburgh has become the first Scottish-focused financial body to endorse the United Nations Environment Finance Initiative’s (UNEP FI) principles for responsible banking.

A coalition of 49 banks, including Barclays and Santander, have committed to aligning their strategy, portfolio and business practices with the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.

The EFH is a Scottish Government-backed, industry-led initiative which aims to enhance local connectivity by assisting individuals and organisations interested or active in the ethical finance market.

It provides a local hub work base from which to operate from as well as delivering capacity building programmes and market-focused research.

The EFH is among the first stakeholders to endorse the UNEP FI principles that provide a global framework for banks to integrate sustainability across all business areas.

Scotland was one of the first countries in the world to sign up to adopting the SDGs in 2015. With the SDGs now embedded into the country’s National Performance Framework, the Scottish Government has sought to emphasise its commitment to promoting wellbeing and sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

Julian Parrott, EFH director, said: “The EFH aims to create a fairer, more inclusive and socially responsible financial system and we see the principles for responsible banking as an important and necessary framework that will support the global banking sector to take a consistent and measurable approach to sustainability.

“We are committed to promoting the draft principles for responsible banking within our networks and welcome this exciting opportunity to work with UNEP FI and partners to raise awareness and encourage adoption.”