CBG urges businesses to leverage Green Finance Taxonomy to access funding

Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) is urging businesses to leverage Ghana’s Green Finance Taxonomy to identify sustainable investment opportunities and strengthen their readiness to access green financing. The bank says environmental sustainability is increasingly linked to business competitiveness, operational efficiency and access to investment, making it important for companies to integrate environmental considerations into their operations and long-term plans.

The call was made during a webinar organised as part of CBG’s Sustainability Week 2026, which brought together experts from government, the financial sector and sustainability organisations to discuss how businesses can use the framework to guide investment and operational decisions. Chief Economics Officer and Head of Climate Finance and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at the Ministry of Finance, Richard Addo, explained that the Green Finance Taxonomy provides a common framework for identifying economic activities that meet defined environmental sustainability standards.

He said the framework could guide financing decisions in areas such as cleaner transportation, energy efficiency and other environmentally sustainable investments. Green finance presents opportunities for businesses The discussion also examined how businesses could position themselves to benefit from emerging green financing opportunities. John Akuoko Tawiah stressed the importance of understanding the requirements for green financing and assessing business activities against the environmental standards outlined in the taxonomy.

He said companies needed to look beyond individual projects and consider the environmental impact of their entire value chains, including production processes, sourcing of materials, products and services. Such an assessment, he noted, could help businesses identify areas requiring improvement while demonstrating their commitment to responsible business practices.

Businesses cautioned against greenwashing Country Engagement Lead at Beyond the Science and CDKN, Dr Prince Ansah, warned businesses against making unsupported claims about their environmental performance. He said sustainability decisions must be guided by scientific evidence, with organisations required to demonstrate that their activities deliver measurable environmental benefits rather than simply labelling their products, services or investments as green.

Dr Ansah also called for sustainability guidelines and climate information to be made more accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), many of which lack the technical expertise and resources to assess climate risks and develop appropriate responses. He said improving access to relevant information was important in helping businesses move beyond awareness of climate change to practical measures that strengthen their resilience.

Businesses urged to begin with practical changes Tolu Lacroix of the United Nations Global Compact Network Ghana encouraged businesses to begin their sustainability efforts with manageable changes in their daily operations. He identified procurement, energy consumption, water management and waste reduction as areas where organisations could make meaningful improvements.

He also recommended reducing unnecessary printing, monitoring electricity and water consumption, and introducing proper waste-separation systems. Mr Lacroix said measuring resource use and documenting savings were essential to determining whether sustainability measures were delivering results. Such information, he added, could help businesses identify inefficiencies, improve operational performance and reinvest savings in other areas of their operations.

CBG outlines sustainability initiatives CBG also highlighted measures it is implementing to integrate sustainability into its internal operations and financing activities. The bank’s management has approved the installation of solar power systems at eight locations. It has also distributed reusable water bottles to staff as part of efforts to reduce reliance on single-use plastics.

In addition, environmental considerations have been incorporated into its lending framework and customer onboarding processes to encourage more environmentally responsible financing decisions. The initiatives form part of the bank’s broader efforts to embed sustainability in its operations while influencing the types of business activities it supports through lending.