Author Bio
Colin McKee
Colin McKee es oficial ambiental y social de BID Invest en Washington, D.C. Colin trabaja con intermediarios financieros (IFs), energía renovable y clientes agroindustriales, y ofrece servicios de asesoramiento para una mejor gestión de los riesgos y oportunidades medioambientales. Más recientemente, su trabajo ha explorado el uso de imágenes satelitales y visualización de datos para manejar el riesgo de cartera de instituciones financieras, particularmente relacionado con la deforestación. Antes de ingresar al Grupo BID, Colin fue consultor de sostenibilidad para PwC en Londres, trabajando con clientes en materia de financiamiento sostenible, evaluación del impacto socioeconómico y cambio climático. También ha trabajado extensamente como consultor para la CFI y el Programa de Medio Ambiente de las Naciones Unidas. Colin tiene una maestría conjunta en Economía Internacional de Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) y un MBA de la Escuela de Negocios francesa INSEAD.
Posts by Colin McKee
Why Thematic Bonds May Be a Hit in Latin America & Caribbean
Equities have traditionally dominated the market for ESG investing, but green, social and sustainable bonds, commonly called thematic bonds, are the hot new thing. Latin America and the Caribbean is uniquely positioned to benefit from this new type of investment.
Four insights for banks willing to seize sustainable finance opportunities
Attitudes towards environmental, social and governance factors are changing across the investment and lending community in Latin America and the Caribbean. Financial impacts associated with extreme weather events, growing regulatory and industry pressures on climate-related risk disclosure, and enhanced availability of data, are key aspects influencing companies’ views of environmental, climate, social and governance (ESG) factors. As a result, the role of ESG analysis is shifting from an ancillary function to an integral part of fundamental analysis and new business propositions. IDB Invest’s annual Sustainability Week (Lima, Peru – May 7-9, 2018) took a pulse on this shift, exploring wider sectoral trends within agribusiness, infrastructure, and banking sectors. For the financial community, in particular, there were four key messages from Sustainability Week:
Sustainable Finance: What can the financial sector do to better manage environmental and social risks?
In January 2018, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock published an open letter to the CEOs of publicly traded companies. His message was clear, companies have a responsibility to deliver profit, and make “a positive contribution to society.” Failure to do the latter comes at the risk of losing its license to operate. Consumers can influence through decisions to purchase products from companies that value broader corporate goals of environmental impact, workforce diversity, and community engagement. What may come as a surprise statement from a private equity fund with $6 trillion under management is increasingly the de facto market standard.
Three Trends in Sustainable Finance across LAC
2017 could be another record year for green investment products as the issuance of green bonds globally is forecast to rise to $206 billion, twice the volume from 2016. This shows how in the last few years, the finance sector has taken serious interest in sustainability’s potential to deliver profit, even though the benefits of environmental and social management have long been understood.