10 Years’ Equator Principles: A Critical Appraisal

Abstract

4 June 2013 marked the formal launch of the third generation of the Equator Principles (EP III) and the tenth anniversary of the EPs—enough reasons for evaluating the EPs initiative from an economic ethics and business ethics perspective. This chapter deals with the following questions: What has been achieved so far by the EPs? Which reform steps need to be adopted to further strengthen the EPs Framework? Can the EPs be regarded as a role model in the field of sustainable finance and CSR? The first part explains the term EPs and introduces the keywords related to the EPs Framework. The second part summarises the main characteristics of the newly released third generation of the EPs. The third part critically evaluates EP III from an economic ethics and business ethics perspective. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main findings.