The United Nations Global Compact today issued new guidance for companies on advancing sustainable development through investments in emerging and frontier markets to leverage private finance to meet the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Released at the SDG Investment Forum hosted by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as part of its ESG Investor Showcase, the publication — Scaling Finance for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — outlines how corporate and financial intermediation, including foreign direct investment, can help bring to scale the private finance directed towards advancing the Global Goals.
“It makes business sense for companies to align corporate investments to the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the United Nations Global Compact. “By doing so, companies create value for both investors and communities where they invest.”
Developed by the UN Global Compact Action Platform on Financial Innovation for the SDGs, the new report completes a series of three publications that help companies identify practical solutions for scaling up their positive impact on the SDGs through sustainable financing. The previous publications focused on SDG bonds and corporate finance.
The publications build the foundation for the new Sustainable Finance Programme at the UN Global Compact which aims to empower companies and their Chief Executive Officers as a global voice in the redesign of finance for sustainable development. It has been estimated that achieving the Global Goals by 2030 will require roughly US$ 5–7 trillion of annual investments, and the financing gap is currently between US$ 2.5 and 3 trillion annually.
Following the first-ever SDG Investment Forum organized in Brazil in March this year, the SDG Investment Forum in South Africa is an opportunity for a dialogue between investors, companies, the UN and Governments on investments to advance the 2030 Agenda. The event is organized jointly by the UN Global Compact, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).
