One of the biggest questions that came up when I looked at the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was how we were going to finance solutions to these huge global problems. Where can we get the money to make these big hairy audacious goals a reality by 2030?
It turns out that while global GDP is sitting around $115 trillion, achieving the SDGs only require $2-3 trillion per year. But allocating that money to the right places will mean more than getting people just to donate more or change their shopping habits. It will mean realigning the entire financial industry and the way we do business, and will require cooperation between consumers, businesses, NGO’s, and government.
In our Harvard Business Review reading this week, we learned how the finance industry is shifting from not investing in corporations with a negative impact to investing in corporations with a positive impact – more sustainable investing. It’s a great trend, but to accomplish the SDGs there will need to be even more change. Based on a paper by The Finance Working Group of the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, some key actions include:
Government
- aligning national financial regulation and investment with sustainable development and infrastructure
- standardising mandatory sustainability corporate reporting
- encouraging businesses to pursue SDGs
Global investment community
- creating long-term pools of financing for sustainable initiatives
- increasing financial innovation that increases inclusion
- embedding sustainability into the investment process
Business leaders
- innovating, finding new ways to fund and pursue the SDGs
- committing to a long-term approach to a sustainable corporate strategy
The SDGs shouldn’t be seen as a burden to business – they actually help to identify where new opportunities lie. The 60 sustainable market “hotspots” identified by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission have the potential to generate at least $12 billion and 380 million jobs by 2030. Aside from the impact on society and the environment, working together to achieve the SDGs has the potential for enormous payoffs for businesses.
Overall, this really showed me how achieving the SDGs isn’t just about one or two companies becoming more sustainable – it requires a holistic, multi-faceted approach and change on a systemic level. What are some other ways you see different stakeholders working together to achieve the SDGs?
Other Sources:
