18 September 2018
GIIN Stresses Need for New Capital, More Investor Action to Meet SDGs
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
story highlights

A Global Impact Investing Network publication titled, ‘Financing the Sustainable Development Goals: Impact Investing in Action’ calls on impact investors to raise and direct new capital towards the SDGs.

The report outlines SDG integration throughout four stages of the investment cycle: sourcing and due diligence, investment selection and structuring, investment management and exit.

GIIN CEO and Co-founder Amit Bouri emphasizes that the report’s five case studies show “a proactive, focused approach” to the SDGs that goes beyond simply tagging relevant investments to main issue areas.

7 September 2018: A publication from the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) calls on impact investors to raise and direct new capital to addressing global social and environmental problems. The report highlights the opportunity presented by the SDGs, around which investors can deploy funds and help fill the “massive capital gap” needed to meet the Goals.

The report titled, ‘Financing the Sustainable Development Goals: Impact Investing in Action,’ notes that in 2017, more than half of impact investors tracked some or all of their performance against the SDGs. The report follows on a 2016 GIIN profile showing how impact investors were mapping existing portfolios and themes to the SDGs.

The report outlines SDG integration throughout four stages of the investment cycle: sourcing and due diligence; investment selection and structuring; investment management; and exit. Since the SDGs “were written for governments, not investors,” according to a Barrons article, the GIIN report aims to show how investors can take concrete steps to meet them.

Through five case studies, the publication illustrates how impact investors are taking an increasingly sophisticated approach to financing initiatives in line with the SDGs. Each case identifies which Goals are targeted, and includes information such as the actors with whom the fund is collaborating, asset class, target returns, sectors of investment, geographic focus and impact metrics. They describe the funds’ structure, how they have integrated the SDGs via the four stages of investment, and a specific investment example that showcases environmental and social impacts.

These examples demonstrate that investors are going beyond a simple tagging of relevant investments for main issue areas, but rather taking a “proactive, focused approach” to the SDGs, according to the GIIN’s CEO and co-founder Amit Bouri. He emphasizes the objective of inspiring all investors – not just impact investors – to take an active role in achieving the SDGs. [Publication: Financing the Sustainable Development Goals: Impact Investing in Action] [More Capital Needed to Achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals, says GIIN] [Impact Investors Should Use U.N. Targets as Investing Guide] [GIIN website]

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