Scotland, the natural home for green and sustainable finance
Initiated by the Scottish Government and the Global Ethical Finance Initiative (secretariat) with support from Scottish Financial Enterprise (industry partner), the Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services was active from February 2022 until May 2024. The Taskforce sought to coordinate and enhance Scotland’s sustainable finance cluster and develop its position as a leading global centre of excellence for green and sustainable finance.
With active participation from 24 financial institutions and financial services stakeholders, during its 2+ year lifespan, the Taskforce hosted 8 formal meetings, delivered 2 presentations to the First Minister’s Financial Services Growth and Development Board, facilitated over 10 workshops and conducted 50-plus private meetings.
- Policy: develop a robust national policy framework
- Promotion: form a public–private entity to coordinate action
- Investment: create a delivery unit to coordinate action
- Skills: establish a “Sustainable Finance SkillsNet”
Government Partner:
Secretariat:
Industry Partner:
Brand Partner:
Press coverage of the launch
Kate Forbes: Scotland true global contender on green finance | The Herald (heraldscotland.com)
Kate Forbes: Clear route map for Scotland to maximise opportunity | The Herald (heraldscotland.com)
Kate Forbes: Scotland true global contender on green finance | The Herald (heraldscotland.com)
Forbes sets goal for Scotland to be world leader in green finance (msn.com) (The Independent)
Kate Forbes: Scotland can be 'true global contender' in green finance | The National
Forbes sets goal for Scotland to be world leader in green finance | Evening Standard
Scottish Government unveils global green finance hub ambitions | Scottish Construction Now
Forbes sets goal for Scotland to be world leader in green finance - Business Insider
Chair
David Pitt-Watson
David is a leading thinker & practitioner in responsible investment and a former Chair of UNEP FI.
David is a leading thinker & practitioner in responsible investment, and serves as a Member of GEFI’s Global Steering Group and Chair of the Scottish Green Finance Taskforce. Born & brought up in Scotland, he was co-founder, and CEO of Hermes Focus Funds & Equity Ownership Service. These became the largest responsible investment group of any fund manager in the world. Throughout his career he has been deeply involved in policy, particularly in the field of corporate governance and financial market regulation. He has led numerous initiatives to improve the performance of the financial system.
Member Institutions
A Future Worth Living
abrdn
Aegon Asset Management
Baillie Gifford
British Venture Capital Association
Cambridge University
CFA Society UK
Chartered Banker Institute
City of London Corporation
S&P Global
FinTech Scotland
GEFI
Leapfrog Investments
LINC Scotland
Lloyds Banking Group
Macquarie Asset Management
Martin Currie
NatWest Group
Phoenix Group
pwc
Royal London
Scottish Financial Enterprise
Scottish Financial Risk Academy
Scottish Government
Scottish National Investment Bank
University of Edinburgh
Member Institutions
A Future Worth Living
abrdn
Aegon Asset Management
Baillie Gifford
British Venture Capital Association
Cambridge University
CFA Society UK
Chartered Banker Institute
City of London Corporation
S&P Global
FinTech Scotland
GEFI
Leapfrog Investments
LINC Scotland
Lloyds Banking Group
Macquarie Asset Management
Martin Currie
NatWest Group
Phoenix Group
pwc
Royal London
Scottish Financial Enterprise
Scottish Financial Risk Academy
Scottish Government
Scottish National Investment Bank
University of Edinburgh
Get in Touch
For further information about the Taskforce, contact chris@globalethicalfinance.org
Knowledge Hub
Market Opportunity
The World Bank estimates that $90 trillion of investment will be necessary to combat climate change, with the potential for these investments to be recouped through climate-friendly initiatives. BloombergNEF estimates that achieving net zero could require approximately $196 trillion in investments,6 while the Grantham Research Institute suggests a figure of $131 trillion. Although estimates vary widely, the amount of money needed to effectively address the climate crisis will clearly be very substantial.
Why Scotland?
A Heritage in Ethical Finance
- The ESG movement can be traced back to the mid-18th century, and linked to the teachings of various religious groups in Scotland
- The intellectual underpinnings of sustainable finance can be found in the writings of Scots-born moral philosophers Adam Smith
- Scotland was home to the world’s first actuarially sound pension fund, promoted
- in 1748 by two ministers of the Church of Scotland
- Another Church of Scotland minister is credited with establishing the world’s first savings bank in 1810
- Many of the earliest life assurance companies were created in Scotland
- The development of actuarial science paralleled the growth of the life assurance industry
- Much of the modern asset management industry finds its roots in the many investment trusts established in Scotland over the latter half of the 19th century.
A Thriving Financial Services Ecosystem
- The Scottish financial services industry represents £14.3 billion (or 9.6%) of GVA, providing 149,000 jobs (paying one-third more than the average wage in Scotland)
- The supportive ecosystem is made up of 2,000+ businesses drawn from all areas of financial and related professional services
- Scotland is a vibrant and diverse international financial centre, with lower costs and other advantages over London
- Five Scottish universities are in the world’s top 200 Times Higher Education rankings, putting them in the top one per cent of the world’s universities
- Scotland has a network of 26 colleges with 265,000 students studying across 23,000 courses each year.
The Scottish Taskforce on Green and Sustainable Financial Services will help to capitalise on the opportunities of financing the global shift to net zero, setting out the actions we will take to promote and establish Scotland as a world leading centre for green and ethical finance, and leverage the potential of private finance.
The Scottish Taskforce on Green and Sustainable Financial Services will help to capitalise on the opportunities of financing the global shift to net zero, setting out the actions we will take to promote and establish Scotland as a world leading centre for green and ethical finance, and leverage the potential of private finance.
Taskforce Public Launch (February 2022)
Global finance leaders, including representatives from the UN and both the UK and Scottish Governments, set out the role Scotland’s financial services can play in the fight against climate change at the Taskforce launch event on 28 February 2022.
UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance and former Bank of England Governor, Mark Carney; Scottish Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes and HM Treasury Economic Secretary, John Glen came together with the GEFI team David Pitt-Watson, Omar Shaikh and Dame Susan Rice to highlight how Scotland can become a world-leading hub for climate finance through the launch of a new Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services, chaired by GEFI.
Final report
Building on Scotland’s commitment to a just transition, its unique heritage in financial services and its track record in ethical finance, in September 2024 the Taskforce published its final report, an action plan of 31 recommendations to help Scotland leverage the global and national momentum towards green and sustainable finance.
