Who owns the Standards, and what keeps them independent
The Finance for Peace Standards are set by an independent Standards Committee of finance and peacebuilding experts. It owns the Standards, approves peace experts and verifiers and takes every certification decision.
What the Committee does
The Standards Committee develops the Finance for Peace Standards and decides when it changes. It approves peace experts and verifiers, reviews applications, and decides whether an investment is certified, renewed or withdrawn. Where a question needs specialist advice it works with technical sub-committees and working groups, and it reports to the Board of Finance for Peace.
Market-supportive and independent
The Standards are based on insights from finance markets and peacebuilding and designed to support the market. The Standards are improved by the Committee on an ongoing basis, following feedback from project owners, issuers, investors, peace experts and verifiers, and what the Market Network learns from live transactions is passed to the Committee in writing. The Committee is independent and will not be influenced by outside interests.
Committee members
Committee members are senior experts primarily from finance, peacebuilding and conflict analysis, with years of practice in the places these Standards are built for.
Arne Hassel
Chair
35 years in senior investment and management roles at Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Coutts and the Kuwait Investment Office and background in environmental economics.
Donata Garrasi
Vice-Chair
Former UN Director of Political Affairs for the Great Lakes; over 25 years global experience across more than 50 countries advising on high profile peace processes, strategies, and programmes for engagement in crisis affected economies.
Michal Fonea Alexandron
Member
ESG and sustainable finance expert; formerly Senior Manager at the UN-backed PRI.
Shahd Hammou
Member
Head of Programmes at the Center for Civilians in Conflict in Sudan. Peacebuilding, governance, Women, Peace and Security, and civilian protection specialist, with research on how communities confer legitimacy on peace-positive investment.
Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou
Member
Director of Politics and Governance at ODI; formerly led the OECD’s International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding.
David Nyheim
Member
Executive Chairman of INCAS Consulting; 25 years in conflict resolution, mediation and early warning in over 30 countries.
Vanda Santos
Member
Two decades in crisis prevention, disaster risk reduction and the humanitarian, development and peace nexus; formerly in senior roles in UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programming.
Peter Webster
Member
Founding CEO of EIRIS, the ESG ratings agency, for 36 years; former PRI Advisory Council member.