Environmental principles

Finnvera’s export credit guarantee activities are guided by the following environmental principles:

• Environmental impacts as a part of the project’s overall risk assessment
  Before granting export credit guarantees and confirming their terms and conditions, Finnvera considers the environ-mental impacts of the project to be guaranteed as a part of the project’s overall risk assessment. This requirement is also stated in the Export Guarantee Act.

• Export Credit Agencies’ co-operation in environmental issues
  Finnvera is actively engaged in the discussions and negotiations between Export Credit Agencies (ECA) regarding com-mon approaches in environmental issues. Finnvera supports international developments towards a common set of rules for ECAs in environmental issues in order to provide equal competitive opportunities in this respect for exporters from different countries.

  Finnvera follows the Recommendation on Common Approaches on the Environment and Officially Supported Export Credits issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

• Sustainable development
  In Finnvera’s export credit guarantee activities, the principle of sustainable development is defined through responsibility. Responsible export credit guarantee operations are defined using the following practical policies:
  • Environmental policy
  • Anti-bribery actions
  • Commitment to allocate guarantees to the poorest countries for productive projects
  • Directing exporters’ attention to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

• Continuous improvement
  Finnvera is continuously working to improve its environmental policy and environmental review process methods. When planning improvements, factors related to international competitiveness, the developments in environmental issues related to export credit guarantee activities, and Finnvera’s own experiences are taken into consideration. Finnvera trains its per-sonnel to identify environmental aspects and to assess environmental risks. Environmental information and lessons learned from projects are disseminated internally in Finnvera.

Attachments:
OECD environmental agreement (PDF)