As the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) celebrates its 28th anniversary today, it is proud that it has become “greener” and has embraced the principles of sustainable development. Last year, when the BSP too was in lockdown, its officials started drafting its pandemic-proof Sustainable Central Banking Program. BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said this program is one of the strategic priorities in the next two years (2020-2023) which also include digital transformation or the adoption of appropriate digital technologies, development of digital competencies, and practice of digital leadership in promoting a digital mind-set. The governor said the BSP’s sustainability agenda is environmentally responsible and will push for sustainable policies and work practices. It will integrate environmental, social and governance in all aspects of the BSP’s key operations or functions. In fact the BSP, in a simple gesture, has reduced paper usage even before the pandemic, and has adopted mechanisms to improve energy efficiency. “We believe that ‘leading by example’ is one of the best ways to usher the transition and shape the behavior of supervised institutions towards the adoption of sustainability principles in their corporate governance, risk management systems, strategic objectives and operations,” said Diokno. BSP is a member of the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). This is an organization of central banks that aim to improve the financial sector’s climate and other environment-related risk management, as well as to mobilize capital to support the transition towards a sustainable economy. The governor noted “several pockets of green initiatives” that were already introduced even before they formally adopted the Sustainable Central Banking Program. The BSP’s paperlite facility is one of them. This was a Monetary Board initiative that significantly reduced paper usage during Monetary Board meetings. Other “greener” BSP initiatives is the adoption of energy-efficient mechanisms such as solar panels and inverter technology in air-conditioning systems. As a member of NGFS, the BSP is strengthening its awareness and contribution to an “effective management and mitigation of the impact of climate and other environment-related risks in the financial sector,” said Diokno. Counting from the first Central Bank Act of 1948, the BSP is actually 73 years old. But to be less strict, the BSP is 28 years old in 2021 counting back from its 1993 Charter (New Central Bank Act of 1993 or Republic Act No. 7653) which was based on the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s idea of an independent monetary authority. The BSP has an amended, new charter which gave it sharper teeth and claws. It was signed into law in 2019 as RA 11211. The amnded, new charter empowered the BSP to rebrand itself and be more relevant to the times, such as embracing sustainability principles.