SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL GOVERNANCE FOR INVESTORS, FINANCIAL & NON-FINANCIAL SECTORS: - A Sustainable Finance Approach to Development: Green Banking, Insurance, Investment, Loan

While the regulatory approach to environmental and social impact mitigation has been successful to an extent, the sustainable finance approach includes this but outpaces rules and penalties. Sustainability or Environmental & Social Governance places the moral or ethical responsibility on financiers as they suffer stock value reduction, damage to corporate reputation and business losses and even direct boycott of products and services, should project risk and impacts result in major negative events. Sustainable finance entails the identification and management of potential environmental and social risks and impacts as well as green business opportunities while employing environmental and social management systems as tools for documentation, implementation and continuous improvement. Although financial consideration has conventionally been the primary business driver, several international financial institutions advocate for the integration of ESG considerations in financial transactions in order to address environmental and social risks through green funding or defunding of high carbon footprint projects. Indeed, sustainability consists of three pillars: economic or financial, environmental and social factors.The IFC’s screening tools for financing include the exclusion list, host country national environmental and social laws and applicable international best practice such as the IFC Performance Standards and the Equator Principles for low, medium and high environmental and social risks respectively, which has to be mitigated. Such risks could be credit, liability or reputational risks. Sustainable finance products include Green Bonds, Green Loans, Social Bonds, Sustainable bonds and Sustainability Linked Bonds, while the emerging Sustainability Business opportunities include renewable energy, energy efficiency, forest capital, green buildings, reforestation, environmental consulting, clean development mechanism, joint implementation and the carbon emission trading scheme for carbon credits and lots more. Of particular importance is the highly recommended practice of the inclusion of Sustainability experts in company Board of Directors in order to ensure that Board Governance address and govern environmental and social issues from the highest level. The Governance component of ESG entails the established processes, oversight and systems that enable a business organization and its products to meet their financial, environmental and social goals while reassuring stakeholders. There is a correlation between the performance of companies and board composition as profitability can be enhanced by corporate governance disclosure levels. When positively focused, corporate governance decisions can reduce global carbon emissions by addressing ESG issues.Sound corporate governance which includes high levels of transparency and disclosures, empowered board of directors, shareholder rights and strong internal controls, improves company management, creditworthiness, profitability, return on investments, operational performance, reduces the risk of non-performing loans and attracting lenders and investors. Financial institutions that imbibe corporate governance best practice projects add value to companies that seek performance improvement in competitive global markets. Chapters include Sustainability & Sustainable Development; Environmental Accounting & Economics; Environmental & Social Risk Identification & Prioritization; Environmental & Social Risk Analyses Process; Environmental & Social Management System Development & Sustainability Issues in Board Governance; Sustainability Business Opportunities; Sustainable International Trade; General Sustainable Finance; The Principles For Responsible Banking, Insurance, Investment & Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UNEP-FI's Initiative) & Sustainable Finance Products: Green, Social & Sustainability Bonds, Sustainable Loans, Sustainable Equity And Sustainability Linked Bonds.