ICC Principles for Sustainable Trade

Global trade plays an essential role in fostering

sustainable economic development by providing

countries with access to goods, services,

and enhanced living standards. Trade is also

increasingly pivotal in driving sustainability and

climate action. However, significant untapped

potential remains for trade and trade finance

to further contribute to achieving the Paris

Agreement targets, decarbonising the global

economy, and advancing the United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To address the need for a clear and comprehensive

definition of sustainable trade, ICC launched a

programme in September 2021 to establish global

standards. This programme brought together

a range of stakeholders, including trade banks,

corporates, technology partners, and sustainability

experts. At COP27 in 2022, ICC introduced the

initial principles—Wave 1—which focused on the

textiles and apparel industry.

Building on this foundation, ICC introduced

Wave 2 in 2023, expanding its scope from one to

four sectors and assessing trade through both

environmental and socioeconomic dimensions.

In Wave 3, ICC has worked with leading banks

and pilot participants to gather invaluable

feedback, evolving the framework into an

implementable programme that caters to the

needs of all sectors. In Wave 3, the Principles

for Sustainable Trade Finance (PSTF) have been

introduced as a component of the broader

Principles for Sustainable Trade (PST). ICC’s PSTF

provide detailed guidance on how trade finance

transactions can be assessed for sustainability

based on their use of proceeds, specifically

addressing the complexities of finance products

where the end-use is often unknown.