Vangelis Grapsas

In his current position at Sustainable Fitch, Vangelis is coordinating the implementation of the EU Taxonomy and EU Green Bond Standard as well as covering other regulatory developments for financial institutions.

He conducts ESG ratings and Second Party Opinions (SPOs) for financial institutions in Greece, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

In that framework, he assigns ESG Ratings to individual entities, to Green, Social and Sustainable (GSS) debt instruments and sustainable sukuk, in line with the best practices stemming from the EU Taxonomy, EU Green Bond Standard, ICMA Principles, and the UN SDGs, as well as social and human rights related conventions and policies (eg UNGC, OECD, and ILO).

Vangelis has a rich background in sustainability and technical assistance consulting, having worked as an ESG & Sustainability Consultant at Deloitte Advisory in Luxembourg, working closely with the EU Institutions (European Investment Bank, European Parliament and Commission) as well as other banks and private institutions, and engaged in policy analysis at "To Diktio" Think Tank in Greece.

The role of ESG Ratings in shaping sustainable operations and financial instruments

ESG Ratings comprise a key method on assessing sustainability achievements as well as differentiating investment strategies, providing qualitative and quantitative insights of an entity or transaction’s impact on ESG matters, according to third-party published principles and guidelines, such as the ICMA Principles, the UN SDGs and the EU Taxonomy.