Citi Perspectives Spring 2020

Citi Perspectives  | 29 Auditing, for instance, still involves huge volumes of paper. Digital solutions can also be deployed for onboarding while optical character recognition and electronic signatures can help further strengthen treasury’s contribution to the company’s ESG agenda. The lack of clear ESG standards — and the newness of the topic for some — has led to some cynicism in the market about “greenwashing” associated with corporates’ ESG policies: third-party auditing and certification are therefore critical. Certainly, many of the standards and frameworks around sustainability continue to evolve. The European Union is working on multiple initiatives to put ESG considerations at the heart of the region’s financial system to help transform Europe’s economy into a greener, more resilient and circular system, for instance. Consequently, it is essential for corporates — and specifically treasury, should it wish to take a leading role in driving the response to ESG issues — to keep abreast of sustainability developments. Treasury should seek to draw on the support of its trusted advisers, which can include banks. At Citi, various units across TTS are now aligned to help ensure that sustainability topics are tackled in a holistic way that helps clients to effectively work toward achieving their ESG goals and understand market expectations and changes in sentiment relating to sustainability. Citi’s commitment to sustainability Citi has long supported initiatives to improve sustainability and in 2014 committed to a $100 billion Environmental Finance Goal. The bank’s target of lending to, investing in and facilitating projects and activities that reduce the impacts of climate change and create environmental solutions that benefit people and communities is scheduled to run until 2023 but is already close to being met. Citi also adheres to internationally recognized environmental and social principles and practices (such as the Equator Principles), as well as the bank’s own set of sustainability policies, statements and commitments. And since 2016, Citi has reported on how its activities relate to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.