Your Chance to Ask Questions is NOW!
Thursday, March 12, 2009 5:24tomorrow morning, I will be interviewing the Sustinability Director for one of Asia’s largest banks. It is a result of an interesting chat that I had with them about what a “Sustainability Director” does at a bank, and I would like to invite readers to send in their questions.
Here is what I have so far.
Softball questions:
1) So.. what exactly does a Sustainability Director do at a bank?
2) What is a bank’s definition of sustainability? Closer to CSR… or is the focus more on lending?
More difficult:
1) Banks have been seen as a point of failure in the recent crisis. that their policies allowed consumers to over extend themselves, but is this a fair portrayal?
2) How will the banking industry change as a result of this crisis? Will it be harder to get credit? How will the product structures (deposits/ payback periods) change
3) what has historically been the role of banks in educating consumers on personal financial matters, and how will this change?
He has agree to answer what he can, and I have a half hour, so be creative!
sustainablejohn says:
March 12th, 2009 at 7:12 am
Given that most industrial energy efficiency investments have low payback times or decent IRRs of 10-15%, it seems these projects should take precedent. But average IRR for new coal build is 15-20%, so why would any investor in Asia want to invest in something that makes him less money? For developing countries in Asia, how can we discourage this type of irresponsible investment? An RPS is one way, but it’s not enough, especially in the case of China! A carbon tax is not at all likely. So what policy/mechanism can you recommend?