Digital Assets: Laying ESG Foundations

Exploring the path to sustainability

The GDF ESG Report is a collection of insights from the community on digital assets, net zero, and sustainability. From exploring the crypto’s carbon footprint, to the use cases for tokenization in green bonds, contributors have shared their observations on digital assets’ role in sustainability.
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GDF at COP26

What do digital assets have to do with COP26? As the world turns its attention to Glasgow, it is clear that access to capital and digital technologies are the key components of the drive towards net zero, and achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Throughout COP26, GDF will be engaging with industry leaders to explore the role of crypto and digital assets in sustainability, and how the sector can collaborate to deliver net zero in a digital finance context.

In This Section:

GDF Summit:

The Digital Assets COP26 Dialogues

11 November 2021, 14:00 GMT / 09:00 ET / 22:00 HK

GDF will convene a community summit to discuss the what and the how of delivering net-zero in a digital finance context.

As an output from the session, GDF will prepare and deliver a public letter, documenting the key insights on achieving net-zero from the crypto and digital assets industry to COP26 leadership, with a view to setting appropriate short and medium term targets for our sector, and mapping the relevant pathways and processes required to achieve net zero.

We would like your input on this, and to invite you to have a voice in the discussion on how the industry can transform motivation and awareness into action.

Register here

Crypto Advocates Call for Greater Clarity Ahead of Climate Talks

1 November 2021

Read Bloomberg’s coverage of the GDF ESG Report
Read the article here

Digital Focus Sessions:
Harnessing technology to achieve
climate change goals

DLA Piper
Monday 8th November, 12:30 GMT

Join us for DLA Piper’s digital focus sessions in conjunction with R3, One Cycle Group and Aether Diamonds.
We are bringing together three sessions for an exciting journey across connected themes to explore using digital and technology solutions – connecting physical assets and finance through the value chain, to achieve climate change goals.

Watch now

GDF x GBBC: How can digital finance drive sustainable innovation?

As COP26 develops, Stan Chen, RecycleGo; Simon Barnby, Archax; Marley Gray, Microsoft, and Anastasia Kinsky, GDF join Alan Cohn, Steptoe to talk about the role of digital assets in sustainable finance.

Anastasia Kinsky provides an overview of the GDF ESG report, Digital Assets: Laying ESG Foundations, in which members have shared their insights on the ESG strategies for decarbonising crypto, as well as the uses for tokenization in providing the traceability, verification, and transparency needed for impact-linked bonds.
The panellists look at the many ways in which blockchain touches both sustainability and finance, particularly when it comes to intangible assets such as carbon credits, which are based on trust. Panellists also discuss how understanding the inefficiencies to the post-trade space in the traditional financial sector helps us address the challenges in sustainable finance.

As countries connect for the first 5 year check-in since the Paris Agreements, the panel looks at how we can further cross industry collaboration to keep a holistic approach to fighting climate change and accelerate solutions.

Click here to read more about Digital Assets: Laying ESG Foundations
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Achieving Social Diversity
In A Net Zero Era

Hogan Lovells, UNCTAD

Net zero is the number one global climate priority for governments and industry, but will it be at the expense of achieving other SDGs? How do we account for the different impacts of NetZero on communities around the world?

Chantal Line Carpentier, UNCTAD, Sukhvir Basran, Hogan Lovells, and GDF’s Lawrence Wintermeyer convene to discuss “Stacking”: an approach to ensure that we do not lose sight of achieving social and gender diversity and equality goals and the critical role these play in achieving net zero.

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