Together with the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), the GISD Alliance is launching a new Model Mandate to provide asset owners with guidance that facilitates the alignment of their portfolios with long-term investment in sustainable development and with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Model Mandate was first published by the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) in 2012. It provided asset owners with a series of example contractual terms around stewardship and accountability of their managers. One decade later, the partnership ICGN-GISD Alliance updated the Model Mandate to provide practical guidance on how to align the contract between asset owners and managers with the SDGs. The updated Model Mandate is guided by the Sustainable Development Investing (SDI) definition, according to which, the positive contributions of investments to the SDGs cannot be outweighed by its own negative impacts.

The Model Mandate will be launched at a hybrid virtual and in-person event hosted by the Financial Reporting Council in London. It will take place on 22 June at 4:00 pm London time/11:00 am New York time. For more information, visit https://www.icgn.org/icgn-gisd-alliance-model-mandate-launch. To attend online or in person, please contact Christopher Smith at [email protected].

Model Mandate launch coincides with in-person GISD Strategy Group meeting in London

The Model Mandate launch has been planned to coincide with the first in-person meeting of the GISD Alliance Strategy Group in more than two years. The meeting convenes as the outlook for the world economy has become bleaker amid continued disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and monetary tightening, and the war in Ukraine. The Secretary-General has issued an urgent call to rescue the SDGs and avoid a downward spiral with devastating consequences for people, planet, and prosperity. Effective and actionable solutions to (a) scale up long-term investments and (b) strengthen alignment of private business and finance with sustainable development are urgently needed.

The overarching objective of the Strategy Group Meeting will be to identify how GISD Members are planning to adjust to a rapidly changing global context and what contributions the Alliance can make to turn the tide on the implementation of the SDGs. This will include concrete actions to advance the Alliance’s work programme, proposals to develop GISD responses to the current crises, and recommendations for the Annual Meeting with the Secretary-General. In addition, GISD Members will benefit from the participation of Lord Nick Stern (IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, London School of Economics) and Mr. Amar Bhattacharya (Senior Fellow, Brookings), who will be speaking at the meeting on ‘The Road to COP 27 - Financing a sustainable and resilient future.’