Participation to Initiatives

MUFG is a signatory to the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). It is a public-private partnership "seeking to encourage the better implementation of environmental and sustainability principles at all levels of operations in financial institutions".

CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is a project that institutional investors from around the world work together and urges corporations to disclose their strategies on climate change as well as detailed data on their greenhouse gas emissions. MUFG has participated in the project since 2004.

In November 2021, the University of Tokyo and 13 major domestic companies launched the Energy Transition Initiative – Center for Global Commons (ETI–CGC) as an initiative to help with decarbonization.

We advance discussions of pathways to achieve carbon neutrality in Japan.

As a founding member of ETI-CGC, MUFG is actively contributing to the activities of ETI-CGC from the standpoint of a financial institution.

This initiative aims for global asset management companies that have endorsed the intent of the agreement, to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, in order to achieve the targets agreed in the Paris Agreement (namely to keep global average temperature increases below 2°C and 1.5°C compared to pre-Industrial Revolution).

 In November 2021, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation and its affiliated asset management companies, Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co., Ltd. , MU Investments Co., Ltd. , Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management (UK) Ltd. have decided to participate in this initiative.

Launched in October 2021, The ATFSG is an initiative formed and led by private financial institutions to facilitate transition finance in Asia. MUFG has led discussions with more than 30 participating financial institutions, based on which the ATFSG has compiled practical guidelines to be used by financial institutions when they consider transition finance along with the ATFSG activity report and a list of recommendation for support from governments and other stakeholders. These documents were then publicized at the Asia Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meeting (AGGPM) hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in September 2022.

The Integrity Council for Voluntary Carbon Markets is a governance body established with the aim of expanding the carbon credit market effectively and efficiently to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. IC-VCM is developing framework for verification and assessment of voluntary carbon credit. MUFG joined the Council in August 2021.

In August 2021, MUFG joined the PCAF, an international initiative launched in 2015 with the aspiration to standardize the measurement and disclosure of financed emissions.

GFANZ is the largest pan-financial sector initiative in the world, bringing together independent, sector-specific alliances such Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and Net Zero Asset Managers  initiative (NZAM). MUFG has actively contributed to international discussions in GFANZ workstreams.

We became a member of GFANZ by joining NZBA in June 2021. We have been actively participating in GFANZ workstreams to contribute to international discussions.

The GFANZ launched the GFANZ Asia-Pacific Network (GFANZ APAC) in June 2022 as its first regional office, where MUFG participates in the workstream tasked to develop the framework for the Managed Phaseout of Coal Fired Power Plants.

In June 2023, the GFANZ Japan Country Chapter was launched under GFANZ APAC as the first GFANZ Country Chapter.

Masamichi Kono, Senior Advisor of MUFG Bank and Former Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, was appointed as GFANZ APAC Advisory Board Member and GFANZ Japan Advisor.

NZBA is an international industry-led initiative, convened by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) with banks committing to aligning their lending/investment portfolios with net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

MUFG became the first Japanese bank to participate in NZBA in June 2021, and became one of the NZBA Steering Group member representing Asia.

Also, MUFG chairs the NZBA Transition Finance Working Group tasked to develop concrete frameworks to expand transition finance.

The Bank has joined the Poseidon Principles, a global framework established by financial institutions for promoting shipping industry's decarbonization.

Challenge Zero (Challenge Net Zero Carbon Innovation) is an initiative of Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) in collaboration with the Japanese government to strongly communicate and encourage innovative actions by companies and organizations to tackle the challenge of realizing a decarbonized society, which is the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement. MUFG participates in this initiative and contributes to the realization of a net zero society through sustainable finance.

Climate Action 100+ was established by global investors in December 2017 as an initiative to encourage companies around the world that emit large omounts of greenhouse gases to take steps to climate change. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation has been participating in the initiative since 2018 and making relevant engagement with its investments.

MUFG has been participating in the Climate Change Initiative since 2018, a network to strengthen the dissemination of information and the exchange of ideas among companies, municipalities, NGOs and other organizations that are actively working to combat climate change, with the aim of achieving a decarbonized society.

MUFG supports the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB).
The recommendations developed by TCFD encourage companies to disclose climate change-related business risks and opportunities and to share information with investors.
Moreover, in May 2019, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking also declared support in its capacity as an asset management company.

The Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP) is a Japanese corporate group established in 2009 under the recognition that industry should embrace a constructive sense of crisis and begin taking positive action to achieve a sustainable zero-carbon society. By leading the transition to a zero-carbon society, MUFG aims to be a needed presence in society. The Securities has taken part as a supporting member since October 2015.

The TNFD is an international initiative launched in June 2021 by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Global Canopy. TNFD aims to shift global financial flows toward nature-positive outcomes through disclosure of nature-related information by companies. The TNFD Forum is a stakeholder organization to provides information and technical support related to TNFD.

MUFG, together with group companies Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation and Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting Co., Ltd., which began participating in the TNFD Forum in September and October 2021 respectively, will participate in the TNFD Forum to promote initiatives for natural capital and biodiversity as a group.

SMI is an initiative that Prince Charles of the United Kingdom called on companies to work together to promote and accelerate the realization of a sustainable future in 2020.

MUFG participate in the Financial Services Task Force and will contribute to the realization of a sustainable and environmentally friendly society and the promotion of decarbonization from the standpoint of a finance institute.

MUFG has joined the Japan Partnership for Circular Economy (J4CE) that the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) launched in March 2021 with the aim of fostering a better understanding of the circular economy among a wide range of stakeholders, including domestic companies, and promoting its initiatives.

The Bank is a signatory to the Operating Principles for Impact Management, a global market standard for impact investment developed mainly by the International Finance Corporation (IFC^(note)). The Bank is the first private financial institution in Japan to join the initiative.

The Principles for Responsible Banking have been developed by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) to align the banking sector with society's goals as expressed in the SDGs, the Paris Climate Agreement, and other relevant frameworks. MUFG is a signatory in 2019.

MUFG Bank (the Bank) and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking (the Trust Bank)  have been signatories to Principles for Financial Action towards a Sustainable Society (also known as Principles for Financial Action for the 21st Century) since their first announcement in November 2011. These principles established mainly through the proactive efforts of financial institutions include seven principles for financial institutions that want to take an active role and responsibility in the creation of a sustainable society, and guidelines tailored to each sector to implement the principles. the Bank, the Trust Bank and the Leasing Business will continue to make active efforts for the environment and society based on the principles.

MUFG has endorsed the United Nations Global Compact, a principle-based framework of voluntary action which is announced by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1999. It calls to companies and organizations around the world to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human-rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruptions, and take actions that advance societal goals. As a financial group aspiring to make "contribution to realize sustainable society", MUFG agrees and supports the principles of the Global Compact and addresses to fulfill our responsibility as a global citizen.

UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact jointly promote the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which were announced in 2006. The PRI are intended to improve long-term investment performance by incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues into investment decision making within the fiduciary responsibility.

Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ adopted the Equator Principles (EP) as a framework ensuring environmental and social considerations when financing large-scale development projects.

Adoption and adherence to the Equator Principles, a risk management framework to determine, assess and manage environmental and social risks and impacts in projects