Pollution poses one of the most pervasive yet under-addressed risks to human health, ecosystems, and economies. From air, soil and water contamination to plastic waste and hazardous chemicals, pollution generates significant financial, legal, and reputational risks for banks and investors. At the same time, tackling pollution presents major opportunities for innovation, sustainable market creation, and positive environmental and social impact. This webinar will explore how banks can take a leading role in pollution reduction and management. Through the lens of science, policy and practice, the session will highlight strategies for integrating pollution considerations into risk assessment, deploying sustainable finance instruments, and forging effective public-private partnerships.

In December 2024, UNEP FI launched ”Navigating Pollution: A Blueprint for Banks”, a practical guide to help banks identify, assess, and act on pollution-related risks and opportunities. To complement this cross-cutting guidance, UNEP FI will present two new sector-specific guidance documents on pollution reduction and management in the agriculture, and in the buildings & construction sectors. These sector briefs offer tailored insights into how banks can support pollution reduction across two high-impact sectors, with recommendations on setting practice targets and actions to accelerate implementation.

This webinar will share key insights from the overarching blueprint and the two new sectoral guidance, explore how pollution action aligns with emerging regulatory trends, and broader climate/nature goals, and share perspectives from banks, policymakers, and scientists across water, soil, and air pollution.

The agricultural sector guidance was co-developed with the Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) Programme, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).