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200th financial product with Austrian Ecolabel

While it took fourteen years for the first hundred certified funds, the time had now come again after less than three years: the two hundredth financial product was awarded the Austrian Ecolabel. A brief analysis.

From the niche into the mainstream

With the equity fund "3 Banken Dividenden-Aktienstrategie" of 3 Banken-Generali Investment GmbH, the two hundredth product certified with the Austrian Ecolabel UZ 49 for sustainable financial products was awarded at the beginning of August. While it took fourteen years from the launch of the UZ 49 in 2004 until the one hundredth fund could be awarded in the fall of 2018, the momentum of the financial market towards sustainability is also reflected in the number and pace of ecolabel certification: less than three years later, the number of certified financial products has doubled again.

Background

The reasons for this trend toward more and more certified financial products are manifold - for example:

The financial market is identified as a central lever to meet challenges such as climate change - which is why the number of sustainable investments and financing is steadily increasing - and with it the range of sustainable financial products.
Legislators have also recognized this, which is why there are comprehensive regulatory requirements in the area of sustainability. In the future, providers of sustainable financial products will have to disclose how they integrate sustainability and also the degree of sustainability. To this end, the European Commission is currently drafting various regulations (taxonomy, benchmark, disclosure requirements) and tools (EU Ecolabel for financial products, EU Green Bond Standard).
Sustainability risks are recognized as key risks by financial market players, which is why more and more investments are gradually being assessed for these risks as well. Investors are also increasingly demanding sustainable financial products - because they want to invest in environmentally friendly companies, for example, and do not want to see their money linked to controversial activities such as fossil fuels or armaments.
The trend toward green products - not only in the financial sector - is generally perceptible and has been significantly reinforced by the Corona crisis. However, this also increases the pressure to distinguish credible from questionable offers. A governmental, independent, transparent seal of quality based on independent expert opinions, such as the Austrian Eco-Label, is particularly suitable for this purpose.
It should also be added that, since the beginning of 2020, financial products other than classic funds can also be awarded the Austrian Eco-Label. Thus, 178 funds are currently certified with the UZ 49, 10 savings and giro products, 10 unit-linked life insurance policies and 2 green bonds - from a total of 59 licensees. The volume of certified financial products currently amounts to around 20 billion euros.

All information can be found here.