The 1st Global Sustainable Finance Conference, a joint ADFIAP-E Tech Germany event under the auspices of the World Federation of Development Financing Institutions (WFDFI), was held successfully on September 8-9, 2011 at the Akademie Hotel in Karlsruhe, Germany. The conference attracted 58 delegates from 25 countries across 5 continents – Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America, South America and Europe – from national and multilateral financial institutions, development agencies, associations and the academe. Among multilateral organizations represented consisted of the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

The event with the theme, “Greening Financial Institutions” featured some 20 technical, best practice and case study presentations on sustainable finance by experts and practitioners in the field from all over the world. It was also an occasion for the WFDFI to launch the Global Sustainable Finance Network (GSFN), a voluntary membership-based global initiative that aims to bring together financial institutions and other stakeholders committed to the advancement of sustainable finance.

As an output of the conference and a message to the Rio+20, the delegates crafted the Karlsruhe Declaration that sets out the aspirations and contribution of the finance community to advance sustainable development.

Mrs. Margret Mergen, Mayor of Karlsruhe, inaugurated the conference while Mr. Nihal Fonseka, ADFIAP and WFDFI Chairman, gave the opening remarks. For more information on the conference, please visit E-Tech Germany’s website at www.etechgermany.com/.