The official Nordic ecolabel, the Nordic Swan, can now present the first ecolabelled funds. This means that SEK 30 billions SEK is subject to tough demands.
Today's savers are asking for a sustainability label to check and follow up those requirements. Almost 8 out of 10 savers, of those who are interested in placing a portion of their savings in a sustainable fund, say so according to a new survey made by Ecolabelling Sweden (Kantar Sifo 2017). As a rule, savers with an interest in saving sustainable trust an independent ecolabel more than their own bank as advisor on funds that are more sustainable.
"With the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, the savers are now being guided to choose funds that can handle tough sustainability requirements and that have the potential to influence entrepreneurship in a more sustainable direction. It is very gratifying that we have succeeded in committing so many financial actors on the journey towards a greener financial market,” says Ragnar Unge, CEO of Ecolabelling Sweden.
Nordic Ecolabelling requirements focus on which companies to discard, which to choose from and on their transparency against savers. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is also a fund management tool to show that their funds live up to tough demands.
Per Bolund, Minister for Consumer and Financial Markets, distributed certificates to the world’s first fund managers in attaining a Nordic Swan Ecolabel at Norra Latin in Stockholm on October 10th. During his term of office, Per Bolund has worked intensively for the financial market to contribute more to sustainable development, and a number of measures have already been implemented.
"Nordic Swan Ecolabelled funds will be an important complement to the legislation recently decided upon by the government, which means that all funds must report on and how they work with sustainability. For all savers it should be easy to choose right. Sustainable funds are both good for our planet and give the savers money,” says Per Bolund.