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JIMMY MOYAHA: As we draw closer to the G20 summit, we’ve been seeing that conversations around the efforts of the G20 and other affiliated setups such as the B20 continue. We’re going to be taking a look at this and how we can ensure a sustainable future for South Africa and indeed the African continent.
I’m joined on the line by the executive head for sustainability at Nedbank, Brigitte Burnett, to take a look at this and see what to make of it. Brigitte, lovely to have you on the show. Thanks so much for taking the time.
With all the conversations happening around the G20 and the B20, a lot of the conversations are centred around making sure that we have long-term partnerships and changing the way things are being done. How does that line up with some of the commitments that we’re starting to see from the various stakeholders and from those participating in these conversations?
BRIGITTE BURNETT: I think that’s really spot on in terms of what we’ve seen coming out as maybe a new currency, and that is collaboration, and how to really work in partnership across various sectors within our economy to reshape what our economy looks like.
The G20 and B20 have really provided a framework for turning a lot of talk over the decades – about access, about transition, about affordability – into real, tangible progress and improvements in lives, livelihoods, and in building economies.
It’s really important to find that collaboration in bringing these frameworks to life and putting these aspirations into practice.
JIMMY MOYAHA: Brigitte, over many years, Nedbank has almost secured its reputation as the green bank, and that’s not because of the colour of the bank necessarily, but more around the sustainability efforts of the bank over many years and some of the areas of finance that the bank has chosen to actively pursue.
How do we then look at organisations like Nedbank and other banks as potential collaborators, as you mentioned, and how do we find their place in the ecosystem that is this collaborative world?
BRIGITTE BURNETT: I think that as a player in the finance sector, we really are the intermediary. We can bring together what policy changes would be required, but we could also help facilitate what entry points there could be across the full value chain of the sectors.
We’ve looked at partnerships, particularly where we cannot address some of those changes directly through our financing opportunities. For example, we’ve looked at partnering with organisations such as WWF [World Wildlife Fund] to help us understand the needs in the bioeconomy.
There are many different entry points depending on where you come in from the value chain.
At Nedbank, we look at foundational funding, pre-commercial funding, and then we look at building up small businesses to create a pipeline of opportunities that eventually land up in large-scale renewable projects. There are different entry points depending on where you are in that value chain and how one would partner.
JIMMY MOYAHA: Brigitte, let’s take a look at the strategy behind the capital deployment. I’m thinking back to a couple of years ago, there was a concert in South Africa, the Global Citizen Festival.
Alongside that, we were talking about Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. We’ve had these Sustainable Development Goals as conversations throughout the last couple of years. Nedbank’s been very active in that space.
But how does that then start to translate from a strategic point of view when you start to look at the projects that you get involved in? Because a lot of the misconception is that these Sustainable Development Goals and these conversations are merely just charitable conversations and not actually sustainable conversations.
How do we start to shift that when we think about the strategy and how we deploy the capital?
BRIGITTE BURNETT: Nedbank’s purpose tries to encapsulate quite a lot of that, where we talk about using our financial expertise for good outcomes for all stakeholder groups. We’ve chosen to reference the SDGs as descriptors of what those good outcomes would be, understanding that those are the key needs of all humanity.
How we’ve tried to translate that into a strategic imperative is we’ve set ourselves a target: that at least 20% of all our gross loans and advances need to be sustainable finance.
They need to be answering one or other of the SDGs that we know create positive impacts and where that really matters most.
Up until now, we’ve probably got about R189 billion in SDG-linked financing.
It’s not at all about charity; it’s about strategy, commercial purpose, and value creation. We really do believe in creating value first, and profits will follow.
JIMMY MOYAHA: Brigitte, how do you create value but also ensure that it is tangible in the real world? A lot of the conversations that have happened, to a certain degree, have been at a high level, but the real-world impacts haven’t been felt. How do we start to look at sustainability conversations in the real world and make sure that we see visible impact?
BRIGITTE BURNETT: I do think that the frameworks we’re getting, such as those coming out of the G20 and B20, and things like the SDGs and the Paris Agreement, at least give us a universal North Star to work towards.
It’s very important to also find what policy, regulatory, and enabling environment changes might be needed to enable that real-world impact.
It’s really incumbent on finance to also truly understand what your client needs – what your client requires in their own transition and in their strategic intent – and then finance that in a uniquely South African or African solution, which acknowledges that we face not only climate change and biodiversity loss, but also have to look at employment, jobs, poverty alleviation.
I think if you can bring all of those together, there will be real impact.
JIMMY MOYAHA: It’s about making real and meaningful impact as we head towards the G20 conversations and the G20 summit that will take place in November. For now, we’ll leave this conversation on that note.
Thanks so much to the executive head of sustainability at Nedbank, Brigitte Burnett, for joining us to look at the importance of sustainability and collaboration as we move forward.
Brought to you by Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB).
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