In 2003, the Equator Principles have been developed as a voluntary approach to facilitate socially and environmentally sustainable project finance. The author examines the Principles’ effectiveness by comparing their publicly professed goals with their actual content, discussing their strengths and weaknesses to distinguish greenwash from genuine commitment to sustainability, and scrutinising examples of their implementation. The significance of the global financial crisis is explored in a separate, detailed discussion to show how the Equator Principles may help to prevent future calamity, and how the lessons learned can be applied to improve the Principles themselves, so as to ensure their continued relevance and viability.
