GFC proposed national standards and ecolabels required for the Green Taxonomy and green procurements at World Standards Day conference
At a conference «Standards in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals» organized by KazStandard during the World Standards Day, Aidar Kazybayev, CEO of the AIFC Green Finance Centre and Chairman of the National ESG Club, named national standards, including eco-labeling standards, the absence of which hinders the effective application of the Green taxonomy and the large-scale roll-out of green procurements.
Specifically the lack of national standards as criterions for green project eligibility is observed in such Taxonomy sectors as “Green and energy efficient buildings”, “Energy efficiency”, “Sustainable agriculture” and “Sustainable tourism”. Meanwhile, there is no national eco-labeling system for a huge range of goods, works, and services, hindering the development and application of technical criteria for green procurements. In these areas, active work is needed in standardization and certification. Standards are the foundation of ESG, and KazStandard should determine the guidelines for ESG transformation.
Standards are powerful policy tools to help contribute to achieving net zero emissions and building a sustainable future for Kazakhstan. Standardization was included in the draft Strategy for achieving carbon neutrality of the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2060 as one of the approaches to achieve the goals of the Strategy. KazStandard is a member, observer or is considering membership in 10 ISO Technical Committees.
KazStandard is also a member of the National ESG Club – a platform for transforming businesses and regions of Kazakhstan as part of the sustainable development and energy transition agenda.
Reference:
The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction that started operations in 2018. In accordance with the Development Strategy until 2025, the key focus of the AIFC is to consolidate as a universal platform connecting the countries of the EAEU, Central Asia and the Caucasus. www.aifc.kz
The AIFC Green Finance Centre is a subsidiary organisation of the AIFC Authority and the Eurasian Development Bank, aimed at introduction and development of sustainable finance instruments and attracting of investments in environmental and social projects in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
The AIFC Green Finance Centre supported the very first issuance of green bonds and first verified green loan in Kazakhstan. Also, the Centre introduced definitions of green finance and green taxonomy (a classifier of economic activities and projects that meet technical selection criteria) in the national environmental legislation. The new legislation provides incentives for entrepreneurs who use green finance instruments. www.gfc.aifc.kz
KazStandart is a republican state enterprise dealing with issues of standardization, metrology and technical regulation. www.ksm.kz
The National ESG Club was created as part of Astana Finance Days 2022 on July 28, 2022 and united 19 companies that are leaders in ESG transformation in their industries. Today the Club includes 30 companies.
