Isabelle Delas (LuxFLAG) : “Labels as a means to foster transparency in Sustainable Finance”
Transparency nurtures the trust that is vital to the sustainable-finance sector’s growth. In this context, LuxFLAG plays a fundamental role: to enable transparency and foster confidence whilst accompanying investors through their sustainability journey for a brighter future for all future generations.
Can you present your association in a few words?
The Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency (LuxFLAG) is an independent and international non-profit association that was founded in 2006 by seven private and public founding partners. LuxFLAG has a global presence and its labels are distributed in over 70 nations worldwide. Our labels play a fundamental role in enabling transparency in the finance sector and fostering confidence among investors. In fact, our primary mission is to support investors in their sustainability journey and to reassure them that a product invests in the given sector in a transparent and sustainable manner. Our labels are dedicated to financial products and fall under two main categories: impact and sustainability transition labels. The granting of a LuxFLAG label means that a financial product, such as an investment fund, an insurance product or a discretionary mandate, meets LuxFLAG´s label eligibility criteria.
“Our primary mission is to support investors in their sustainability journey and to reassure them that a product invests in the given sector in a transparent and sustainable manner.”
What actions do you carry out within your association?
At LuxFLAG, we guide investors through their sustainability journey by providing them with a variety of practical tools. First, LuxFLAG labels are independent and a globally recognized validation of compliance with the LuxFLAG labels’ eligibility criteria, which reflect industry standards and best practices. Labels are a unique tool at the disposal of Asset Managers, insurers or banks that can be used to highlight the Sustainability/ESG/Impact credentials of their financial products. In addition, we have developed a Sustainability Knowledge Center that acts as a sharing platform for the exchange of Sustainable Finance-related articles and training. Lastly, we offer an Associate Membership’s program with over 84-member organizations to date. This program offers to organizations involved in or interested in sustainable finance the opportunity to network with one another, exchange knowledge and share best practices around responsible investing.
How does your association adapt to the evolution of public policies, mentalities and the Luxembourg way of life?
LuxFLAG is continuously growing and evolving in order to follow the developments in the sustainable finance regulatory environment and to join the fight against global warming. It is important to meet the need for more transparency in different niches of the financial sector and as a result of this, LuxFLAG launched two new labels, notably the LuxFLAG ESG Insurance Product Label - which was introduced as the first European Insurance product with an ESG Label – and the ESG Discretionary Mandate launched in December 2021, the first one of this kind also. Both labels assist with the transition to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis, as well as other environmental and social issues embedded in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.