Eurosif goes ‘Tobacco-free’

Eurosif becomes today a Founding Supporter of the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge, an initiative developed by Tobacco Free Portfolios. This means that Eurosif will be supporting the Pledge, the organisation and its mission of reducing and ultimately eliminating investments in tobacco.

Tobacco Free Portfolios is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to inform, prioritise and advance tobacco-free finance by encouraging financial institutions to reflect on and reconsider commercial relationships with the tobacco industry and thereby aid decisions to exclude tobacco from investment, lending and insurance activities.

Eurosif is on the forefront of the promotion and divulgation of sustainable and responsible investment and takes serious care in tackling the threat of financing controversial activities, for this reason it shares the vision of Tobacco Free portfolio to encourage a tobacco-free finance.

Governance, health sector prioritization and community engagement are the strategic elements of the journey towards a tobacco free finance and Eurosif plays an active role in addressing global challenges, such as the Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 3 - Health and Well-Being and SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals.

Throughout its membership, Eurosif commits to the following actions:

• Collaborate to raise awareness on the issue of lending to, investing in, and insuring tobacco companies.
• Encourage the adoption of tobacco-free finance policies across lending, investment and insurance.
• Encourage the alignment of lending, investment and insurance policies with the aims of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
• Consider forming or supporting partnerships within or across sectors to promote tobacco control initiatives.
• Help guide a widespread transition towards tobacco-free finance by supporting activities that build knowledge and understanding of tobacco-free finance.
• Encourage more organizations to become signatories to or supporters of the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge.
• Gather again in two years’ time with an expanded global network committed to the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge.

You can discover more about Tobacco Free Portfolio and its activities on its website.