(26 February 2025 – Singapore) Standard Chartered has announced its adoption of the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) newly published “Principles for Sustainable Trade Finance”, making it the first international bank to align its Sustainable Trade Finance solutions with these global industry guidelines.
The ICC introduced these principles in October 2024 to establish transparent, standardised criteria for banks, corporates, and investors to direct capital towards sustainable and inclusive trade finance initiatives.
Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Finance offerings operate under two key frameworks: the Transition Finance Framework and the Green and Sustainable Product Framework 2024. These frameworks ensure transparency in transaction eligibility while maintaining rigorous environmental and social risk management standards.
“Standard Chartered first introduced its sustainable trade finance proposition in 2021, and as part of our efforts to support the creation of sustainable trade finance standards across the industry, we are pleased to adopt ICC’s principles,” said Sofia Hammoucha, Global Head of Trade & Working Capital at Standard Chartered. “We are committed to offering our clients innovative solutions that empower them to achieve their sustainability goals while effectively managing associated risks. We applaud ICC for leading the way in setting the international guidelines for the industry and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them to shape the future of sustainable trade finance globally.”
The ICC Principles aim to provide a comprehensive methodology for assessing sustainable trade finance transactions, including standardised criteria for use-of-proceeds assessments, enhanced due diligence for sustainability verification, and unified reporting standards to ensure consistency across financial institutions.