Legal & Regulatory News

International Chamber of Commerce publishes discussion paper in first phase of programme to establish standards in sustainable trade

On 10 November 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a discussion paper titled 'Standards for Sustainable Trade & Sustainable Trade Finance', as part of the first phase of a programme to begin defining and setting the standards for sustainable trade in a manner that provides sufficient transparency into the sustainability characteristics of a transaction.

This discussion paper sets out a draft, high-level definition of both 'sustainable trade' and 'sustainable trade finance' and is the first phase of a wider programme of work from the ICC to:

• define sustainable trade and trade finance;
• establish a framework to measure and assess the sustainability of a given trade transaction/ trade finance portfolio meet the standards for sustainable trade; and
• engage with the broader trade community to iterate and refine these matters over time.