HEFFA SCHÜCKING
SUSTAINABILITY
HEFFA SCHÜCKING
TITLE: FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR COMPANY: URGEWALD
INDUSTRY: ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISM
LOCATION: SASSENBERG, GERMANY
Heffa founded environmental and human-rights NGO Urgewald in 1992. A biologist and veteran activist, she has spent more than 30 years exposing the financiers behind destructive projects and earning international recognition, including the Goldman Environmental Prize. core of financial institutions taking first steps to restrict their support for the fossil fuel industry.”
Her clear message – that public pressure matters, especially when institutions are deciding whether to set restrictions on coal, oil and gas – also underlines a broader point. She says that the industry is increasingly split between institutions that are still moving and those that are already retreating.
What Heffa does drive home, however, is the importance of first movers. Although reputation and legacy can enable emboldened steps, she argues that there is often hesitancy to journey down a less ventured path.
“ Pressure from outside can be even more important,” she asserts, although not shying away from the fact the industry has seen a flurry of‘ backsliders’ – those who have quietly done a 180 away from previous climate pledges.“ But it’ s really important to have first movers and to be brave enough to do something that no one else has done. If BNP Paribas can stop issuing bonds for oil and gas producers, why can’ t you?”
What set this panel of environmentalists and financial execs apart from other conversations around finance and the climate crisis was that it did not just parrot previous and familiar discourse around climate commitments. By bringing together this group of speakers, it showed how sustainability is becoming a live management issue for financial institutions that need to protect margins, retain clients and stay relevant in a market being reshaped by transition risk.
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