The fourth annual conference of global investors for sustainable development (GISD) Alliance, which focuses on supporting developing countries on the path to achieving the SDGs, and it took place at UN Headquarters in New York amid a deteriorating global economic outlook due to the war in Ukraine. , climate change and COVID-19 – all of which are threatening long-term investment, a press release issued by GISD said.
‘Do not waste time’
“The large and persistent SDG financing gap must accelerate our collective efforts to scale up private financing and investment for the SDGs. There’s no time to waste. We can’t leave the SDGs out of reach“The United Nations said” Secretary General António Guterres.
The GISD Alliance – convened by the Secretary-General in 2019 – includes prominent business leaders from around the world, including the heads of Standard Chartered, Pimco, Citibank and Investec.
Financial increase
It seeks to regulate, scale, and accelerate financing and investment for 17 Goals. The GISD Alliance is led by Co-Chairman Leila Fourie, CEO of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and José Viñals, Group President of Standard Chartered.
“Over the past year, building on the significant work done in previous years, the GISD Alliance has focused on establishing the conditions for scale up long-term private finance to invest in sustainable development (SDI),” said Ms. Fourie.
“This is done through the development of a credible definition for SDI, indicators aligned with the SDGs, a Model Mission to assist in the development of SDI strategies, and input into the development. develop a set of global sustainability reporting standards and a roadmap for the needed MDB reforms . “
Men working in the construction of a new road in Albania.
New initiative
Mr. Viñals said that over the next 12 months, the Alliance will “continue to scale these efforts and embarking on new initiatives, launching a transformative hybrid finance platform that will enable co-investment in sustainable infrastructure projects.
“We will also continue to engage with global stakeholders to drive the reforms needed to unlock financing and investment for sustainable development in support of the SDGs.”
To facilitate the flow of investment into developing countries, the Alliance is advocating for more efficient mobilization of private capital by multilateral development banks and the overall international development system.
GISD Members made recommendations on changes to the governance and business models of development banks and improvements to the financial structure.
New standard
Since its launch, the Alliance has developed standards and tools to align portfolios with the SDGs, including a unified definition of Sustainable Development Investment (SDI) and metrics aligned with the SDGs. SDG, industry-specific to enhance reporting and enable reliable comparison of SDG performance within and across different industries.
GISD highlights the case of Aware Super, an Australia-based pension fund with A$150 billion in assets, which has now incorporated the SDI definition as part of its investment due diligence process.
Most recently, in collaboration with the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), the Alliance launched the Model Credentials, which provides guidance on the contractual relationships between asset owners and asset managers. assets, with a focus on encouraging long-term investments consistent with the SDGs.
Co-investing for the future
The GISD Alliance also submitted a collective response to the public consultation of the International Sustainability Standards Council, established at COP26, to develop a global baseline for sustainability claims for capital market.
Additionally, the GISD Alliance is aiming to launch a Sustainable Infrastructure Investment Platform (SIIP) that will enable multiple multilateral development banks and institutional investors to jointly invest in suitable infrastructure. align with SDG and scale up investments in emerging markets.
Head of the United Nations convened the Coalition to find solutions to mobilize investment in the SDGs as part of the implementation Sponsorship strategy for 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Members control $16 trillion in assets.
